Running

It Just HIIT Me!

I just had the most amazing EXIPHANY (noun: a term used to describe the phenomenon where a new exercise idea or philosophy suddenly makes sense. An exercise epiphany.) 
Let me start with a little background. I LOVE running. I love it so much that one of the only things I want from my husband for Christmas is for him to watch our son so I can get at least 3 runs in a week during the holidays. I started running when I was 9, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I have dreams of running marathons or ultra-marathons, but I really just love doing hill, tempo, or interval runs. I love pushing myself.

About six months ago, however, we moved. Moving into a city, only having one car, and being a stay-at-home-mom were all factors that made it difficult to run as much as I'd like.
Sure, I could throw a fit and be selfish, and not make dinner for my family, in order to log my miles, but I felt like the right thing to do was to put my family first...even if it meant sacrifice something I really, really, really love to do.

But then I discovered Fitnessblender.com. It occurred to me that if I wanted to get a workout in, I needed to do something at home most days of the week. I tried Youtube for good cardio vids, but I had a hard time finding one that was hard enough, or that was free. That's why Fitness Blender is so amazing. The Fitness Blender duo, Daniel and Kelli have worked so hard to make tons of totally free HIIT videos you can do at home. Did I mention FREE. No more paying for programs like P90x or Insanity.

My absolute favorite thing, however, is the fact that these workouts are tough. HIIT, or High-intensity-interval-training, is really a trendy thing in the fitness world. In fact, and this is the exiphany part, there are many studies showing that using a HIIT based program as a runner, may help you get faster and stronger than a traditional aerobic base, high mileage plan would.

Check out this link, where I learned that Brian Mackenzie, one of the discoverers of Cross-fit, actually improved his marathon and ultra-marathon times using this philosophy. He even claimed that you can nix most of your long runs all together, and if you do proper HIIT training, you'll be prepared to not just complete a marathon or ultra, but compete in one.

The idea behind Cross-fit and HIIT is that you go hard everyday..or pretty hard everyday (I usually workout 5 days a week, and really try to listen to my body. I won't push it if I don't feel well or if my body needs to rest.) Not an all-out sprint, but the pace you would run a fast 1 mile race, so pretty close to a sprint. I do the HIIT, cardio kickboxing and Tabatta style exercises on Fitnessblender as hard as I can. You really exhaust every muscle group and get really solid.

I have noticed great improvement in myself. Not only am I stronger just from doing these killer workouts, but I am faster too. I can't run very often, but when I do, I still feel like I am progressing. Sometimes I add on an abdominal or upper body exercise on top of my cardio, but the great thing about these workouts is that they combine Pilates and yoga with higher intensity workouts, so you are getting a pretty good core and upper body workout as it is.

Also, I do have neighbors that live downstairs. So sometimes, I switch in a low-intensity (or lower-intensity) interval rather than all the jumping ones, that I am sure would make my neighbor think the roof was caving in. I've found jumping lunges, burpees and low-impact mountain climbers all have a low "shake the apartment" factor. And I do all of these during jr.'s nap time, and he rarely wakes up.

I know running and sports philosophies change all the time, but for me, this one is really something to get excited about. I love pushing as hard as I can, and getting fast results. I enjoy long runs, but I have a hard time setting the time aside.

Try a few of my favorite workouts and let me know what you think!

This one.
THIS one.
And, yes, THIS one, too.

Happy HIITing.



Can You Induce a Runner's High?

The Runner's high. That lovely, perfectly legal, endorphin rush you experience while pounding the pavement or the trails. You feel like you can run forever, break any personal goal or world record, and you are completely, or at least basically, numb to any discomfort.

I have been thinking a lot about the "Runner's High". For me, I have many more blah running days than I do endorphin filled. I still feel great when I am finished, but honestly, its a pretty rare, but sweet occasion when I feel on top of the world. Of course if I had perfect runs every time, I would probably be faster, and I would log more miles. I would certainly be more competitive.

If working out was bliss everyone  would exercise, and we wouldn't have so many health problems related to a sedentary lifestyle. Running isn't always easy or fun. Point made. But what about elite runners? Pros are expected to lay it all on the line every time....it's there job. Some how I don't think explaining to a sponsor or coach after a pathetic race that "I can't run without endorphins" would go over too well. I am sure the elites experience off days, but they still prepare the best they can, and do their best.

So can you coerce yourself into having a great run every time? Can you induce a "Runner's High"?

I am going to do an experiment and see. My theory is basically yes, you can. While everyone has better days than others, I believe there are many factors we can control. Take my run last Saturday: I did not sleep well, but rolled out of bed and ran anyway. I just drank a sip or two before heading out the door (bad, I know), and I only ate a bite of a muffin. I decided to run a 5k timed tempo run to gauge where I was at. I felt awful and ran a full 2 minutes slower than my personal best.

Obviously, If I would have hydrated better, slept better, and eaten better, I probably would have run better.

My plan is to take note of how I feel on each run this month, and try to see what influenced the endorphins.

What makes your runs better?

• 9/28- Felt: Slow and sluggish. Prep: Dehydrated, hungry and tired. Weather: Sunny, probably 86 degrees F, really dry. Distance/route: 5k tempo half up hill, half down.

• 10/5- Felt: Great! In fact, I felt a lot better than I thought I would, since I haven't run for a week. I ran a few pick-ups at the end, and felt like I could have done several more. Prep: I ate a hearty breakfast (biscuits and sausage gravy with eggs) and slept pretty well last night. I was also pretty hydrated. Weather: Sunny about 75 with cool breeze (felt AWESOME!) Distance: 4 miles, half up hill, half down. 

• 10/9 (yes, I can't run very often, sadly)- I ate pretty well before hand, and was hydrated. Weather was AWESOME (75 ish and overcast). I ran with music and ran the same route as saturday, but 3 minutes faster!! (but I found out it was only 2.75 miles..ha ha, I thought I was running like a cheetah! ) I think the music really helped!

• 10/17 AWESOME run. It was one of those days when I just had to get out of the house. I had so much bottled-up energy, I ran farther and faster than usual...and it's been a while since my last run. I ran about 5.5-6 miles. The first half was perfect. One the way back, I spotted another runner and decided to 'beat' them. I ended up pushing the pace much harder than I should have for being such a sporatic runner lately. I did beat him though :) I also didn't run with music, and I was pretty well fed/hydrated. Weather was sunny 75.