When I started running over a decade ago, I used running as cross training for my college basketball and soccer careers.  I had no running coach or any running mentors to guide me.  I fell into a pattern of running hard and training all out 100% of the time.  I had no idea the importance of wearing proper shoes, cross training, giving my body time for rest or any of the smart ways to train.

Needless to say, it only took me a couple years of overtraining (training too hard for too long) that caused me to fall into four years of being injured, forcing me to back off running for a period of time. 

What does training hard look like?

For me, it included things such as:

• not having a running coach/mentor
• not cross training or exercising other muscles with non-impact strengthening exercises
• not having proper shoes
• not resting enough
• not having a training schedule designed for me and my goals
• not eating the effective nutrition to fuel my body
• not being proactive with preventative health methods (ie chiropractic care, massage)
• failing to create a yearlong plan for myself (a.k.a. planning to fail)

I had to give up dreams and goals that I had aspired for simply because I had become imbalanced in my running.  Due to my own belief in that old philosophy “No pain, no gain” and pushing myself for so long, I literally woke up every morning in pain due to my ineffective training choices and had to accept the fact that I could not train as I wanted to.

However, as in every season of adversity, there lied that opportunity for me to make some life changing discoveries that I still benefit from to this day.

I knew I had to find different ways to train and healthier philosophies to embrace.  I discovered that training “smart”  versus training “hard” was a much better way to lead my running/triathlon career.

What does training smart look like?

Training smart includes balanced approaches of training for my body and mind, such as:

• cross training 3-4 times per week
• have the proper shoes for your feet - get a runner’s gait analysis
• resting one day completely (NO EXERCISE other than walking)
• core strengthening exercises a minimum of 3 times per week (can include yoga/pilates type classes)
• listen to my body and stop serious training if the pain level in any part of my body is above a 5 on the pain scale of 0-10 (with zero being pain free and 10 being excruciating/debilitating pain)
• training using the heart rate monitor method of monitoring my heart rate and not going above the anaerobic threshhold more than once per week - staying in the proper zone for me at all times
• having a running coach or exercise mentor on some level at all times during training season (ie personal trainer, coach, class instructor)
• seeing a chiropractor and massage therapist regularly (weekly or monthly)
• setting goals for particular races throughout the year and committing myself to a training schedule that is realistic for where my body/mind are at at that time
• scheduling an off-season time during the year - whether it be two weeks or two months - where I give my brain and body a period of serious rest/time off
• eating proper nutrition

Keep in mind, this list of approaches took me nearly 10 years to complete (not to mention a few injuries along the way to help me learn these lessons).  And your list may look quite different.  My hope is that my list will inspire your list of training smart methods. 

The most important thing to remember is that running/training of any kind can be a life long journey only if you train smart.  Training, just as in life, is not meant to be hard - it is meant to be completed with wise choices that make the journey all worth while.

And that is what life is all about - the journey.

That old saying “It’s just like riding a bike” came back to me recently as I got back on my road bike after several months off during my pregnancy.

The doctor had given me the go ahead four weeks after my baby Henry was born and I was super excited to get back on the bike again.

And that old adage rang true.  After dusting off all the cobwebs and pumping up the tires, I got back on the bike.  Surprisingly, getting back on my roadbike - one that has served me well over thousands of miles, several races ranging from Ironman Triathlons to 100-mile century bikerides and has traveled the world with me - was very easy.  I rode for 60 minutes that first day, over varying terrain of flat and hilly roads, with a great sense of ease.  My body responded well.  I almost felt as if I had never left the bike.  Other than the saddle sores (a cyclist’s favorite pain) I endured these past several weeks being back on the bike and in spin classes again, this experience has been liberating to say the least.  Swimming came back just as easily, as if I had not stopped.  Other than regaining some cardio and strengthening my heart rate, my muscle memory bounced back quickly with two out of my three triathlon disciplines.

I am sure you can relate.  Has there been anything in your life lately that you have made the return to?  Something that you love and just had to give up for a bit, whether it be for work, family, health or simply the craziness of life?  There is nothing better than familiarity and getting back into the groove of mind, body and Spirit - truly feeling connected with yourself and fulfilled.

However, not everything can be related to that saying.  Not everything is as easy for the body and mind to return to.  Not everything is like riding that bike.  Sometimes I get to be a beginner again and start all over now that my baby is getting older and my body is attempting to return to it’s triathlete status.

Case in point, I started running just two weeks after the biking/swimming routine began again.  I had high expectations that my return to running would be just as successful as the other two sports.  I mean, after all, my first love is running.  It should be easier than “riding a bike”, right? 
My body has been doing it the longest these past 15 years or so.  I was running 5ks, half-and full-marathons long before I donned that biking helmet or swim cap.

Yet, I was humbled those first two miles on the beach trail.  Actually, I was humbled in the first few steps of that beach trail.

I couldn’t even make it one full mile without huffing and puffing.  My legs weren’t excited at all about the pounding I was exerting upon them by shuffling forward with each step.  My heart rate went through the roof.  My side had an ache I hadn’t experienced in YEARS.  I call it the “beginner’s stitch”.  You’ve probably experienced it yourself.  That ache just under the ribs that makes it hard to breathe and caused me to walk a few minutes just to be able to lightly run/jog again.

I walked/jogged those first two miles as if I had never run a marathon or completed an Ironman Triathlon.  My return to running was anything but familiar.  Both my mind and body groaned at the end.  My face was red from the exertion and my heart rate took longer than expected to recover. 

As I leaned over to stretch my legs, they, too, groaned with disgust. 
“Why do you love this sport so much?”,  they seemed to ask.

Have you ever felt that way?  You decided to return to something you once experienced before with ease - whether it be a career, a relationship, a sport - and yet you found yourself struggling to remember what it was about that experience before that was so wonderful or so easy.  You realized that you would have to work at it again, maybe not as a true beginner as before, yet you weren’t going to get the opportunity to ease back into it without making a serious, concerted effort.  You had a new beginning.  A new opportunity to start over and experience yourself in a different way.

Already, in the past several runs I’ve logged, I learned three new things about myself in this return to my favorite sport that I wanted to share. 

1.  Nothing that I love (ie running) comes back easy once I take time away from it, therefore I don’t want to take things for granted as I am experiencing them.  I enjoy being a new beginner again.
2.  I’ve got to work at it every day in some capacity (no matter what) in order to get stronger and healthier in order to get the results I want.
3.  No matter what happens, I get to enjoy the journey and learn more about myself with every step, no matter how painful, challenging or difficult it might be - there will be rewards along the way in mind, body and Spirit.  

Ironically, these same three things can be applied to my life as well as running - whether it be relationships, my career, my new role as a mom - or anything that I greet that has challenges within it.  And with these three things I can definitely see growth and results in my life in a more meaningful way.

And for that I am grateful that not everything in life is as easy to return to like riding a bike.

Dear friends,