best running temps

When we are beginning to run we always think we like warm weather for running.  Then we run in warm weather lol.

I have found myself wondering about ideal running temperatures since my marathon training has been going very well with this polar vortex.  I found this article.  I'm not sure how accurate it is but it certainly looks legit.  It says the ideal temperature for a marathon is 51.8 degrees.  That sounds phenomenal, actually.  Today I ran a quick 5 at 43 degrees.  My last long run was at 28 degrees.  To be honest, it all feels about the same to me.  I have pretty much worn some variation of the same running outfit for the last three months.

(And can I just say that temperature is another negative of treadmill running!!?  So! Hot! Unbearably hot!  I gave up the treadmill about 5 weeks ago lol. #icouldnt so #ididnt.)

Looking at the ideal temps for other race distances, I remembered that there was in fact a time when warm weather was pleasant.  Heat is good for helping to loosen up when running a short distance (vs running a long distance where you have 5-10 miles to do this).  66 is the ideal temp for a 10k.  It seems a bit warm to me.  I need to run some more 10ks, clearly.  I have lost touch with running reality.

Anyway, there's some data for you.  Enjoy.

Whole wheat pancake recipe

I'm not a fan of wheat flour when clearly white flour should be used (e.g. snickerdoodles- stop effing up junk food, people!), but I found a pancake recipe that is actually really good! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vinegar (or lemon juice)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp melted butter

1. Combine milk and vinegar and let mixture curdle.
2. In a bowl, whisk to combine whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Whisk together egg, melted butter, and curdled milk until it looks fairly homogenous and smooth. Whisk wet mixture into dry ingredients, and stir the two together until just barely mixed.  (Pancake tip: you want any visible loose flour to be stirred in, but there should still be plenty of lumps. Stirring out the lumps will make the pancakes tough.)
4. Preheat a nonstick griddle to 375 degrees F (medium-high).  Oil the surface. Add small scoops of pancake batter. Cook for a few minutes, until you start to see little bubbles forming on the surface. Flip the pancakes and cook for a few minutes on the other side, until the bottom is golden brown.

I made small pancakes (about 1.5 tbsp of batter) and it yielded 14 (3 servings).  They turned out great.  (Each small pancake is less than 60 calories.  And I used agave instead of syrup for a low GI sweetener).

fitness articles i'm reading

1. Interesting fitness resources. I found #3, which supposedly analyzes your level of nutrient depletion, intriguing.  And who doesn't love blender bottles?
2. Some myths and explanations about strength training.  Check out the bad ass in the photo!  [The page this link opens to is not a coincidence ;o)]
3. Clean recipes.  I love that my go to breakfast as of late is hanging out there on the front page :o).
4. Core exercises.  Nine of 'em!  And the second one is like an orgasm in a box.  Ok, no, but it's one of my favs!
5. How to run faster.  Who knew it was as simple as reading this article ;o).  Hope I learn something useful.  There are bucket list items to be crossed off.

Happy running!!

Juicing website!

I found this great resource this morning!  Great for figuring out the nutritional content of your juice recipes, even the ones you make up :o).  Great find!  Happy juicing!

treadmills suck

So today I worked from home.  Why did I work from home you ask?  Was it to get a head start on the day?  No.  Was it to work without interruption?  No.  Did it have anything to do with work at all?  No, no it didn't.  I worked from home because today was the first chance I would have in several weeks to run at above freezing temps (i.e. 33 degrees), and I wanted to take advantage.  That is the definition of a NJ runner, I'd say.

I have actually been doing quite a bit of treadmill running.  If you know me, you know I think treadmills <<<<<< death, however, the limited daylight hours combined with the polar vortex that is this NJ winter is making them pretty much unavoidable.  I don't like treadmills for an obvious and less obvious reason.  The obvious, universal reason is that it makes time pass SOOOO SLOOOOOW.  I just sit there watching each hundredth of a mile pass at a snails pace.

The less obvious reason is that I'm a little bit terrified of falling lol.  I fell doing sprints on a treadmill about a year ago and scraped up my legs.  I'm not a fan of that kind of pain (blisters and chafing, i.e. slow pain i can handle).  So now I have a slight fear of it happening again.

Anyway, I am realizing there are some benefits to treadmill running too.  First of all, when I get tired outside I only have to stop running, stop putting one foot in front of the other.  However, when tired on a treadmill, I must make a conscious decision to turn the treadmill off.  I find that it takes a lot less willpower to keep going on the treadmill than it does to keep going outside.  Also, you can watch tv while running on the treadmill, which is nice (I guess).  But what I really like is this:
http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php
I always run at a 2% incline because I know that treadmill running is easier than outdoor running.  This chart explains it as wind resistance but I actually think it has more to do with propelling yourself forward.  When you run outside, at the end of each stride you must propel yourself forward by pushing off the ground.  However on a treadmill the moving belt does this for you; it drags your foot backwards.  Of course running outside also usually introduces some type of hill work, however minimal.  Anyway, any and all of these things make treadmill running easier, and thus I run at an incline.  My friend sent me this chart the other day and according to it I am actually overcompensating for the lack of resistance.  I have been training harder without realizing it :o).  And it is starting to show!  Today I ran my "long" run outside and though it felt like a relatively easy pace (as long runs should), it actually was quite speedy for me.  So though I hate to admit it, I think the treadmill running is actually helping me work on pace.

Another fun site a friend sent me (every runner needs friends like mine... or to follow this blog I suppose lol) is this:
http://tazrunning.com/SelectRace
It customizes your race pace by mile according to the course elevation of the specific race you are running.  Of course you would probably need to put a lot of sharpie on your arm barring a photographic memory.  (No you don't!  They thought of everything: http://tazrunning.com/PaceTattoos/)

Happy running!

New year, new chance!

It's that time of year again!  There's a lot of resolution bashing going around, but I am definitely all for it.  Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss you will land among the stars.

Here are some more great quotes from my friend and trainer, Barron Jackson:

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed
is more important than any other one thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

Every day is a good day to make a resolution
for beginning a new way of living,
but the New Year's Day holiday provides a good focus
for reviewing our lives and resolving
to live each day with conscious attention.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie


Happy New Year!

Running in NJ

It's racing season.  In Texas.  I'm in New Jersey lol.

There are so many cities nearby, I can't wait to run in all of them when it's racing season here.  In the meantime, I am running just for the love of it and of course it feels so good.  I was able to link up with a runner friend pretty quickly, and because the stars are aligned it turns out that she lives in my apartment complex.  Running buddy at my doorstep, literally (I normally forgo the paired/group run during the week for the sake of time).

She's probably one of the only things that can win over the warm bed in the morning every time :o).  And the warm bed is quite tempting when it's 20 degrees outside.  20 degrees!  With wind and humidity!  I am learning how to layer by trial and error, and I've been able to make pretty good educated guesses so far.  My favorite lesson so far?  Running in the snow might be just as good as running in the rain.

Happy running!