How to Keep New Year's Exercise Resolutions - Fire Your Inner Critical Coach

Prepare for 2017 By Firing Our Inner Critical Coach

by Kathleen Lisson

As a half marathon runner, an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and RRCA Certified Running Coach in San Diego, I have seen the effects of positive and negative coaching on athletes. But what about the coaching we don't see - the voice inside each of our heads as we run?

“You’re fat.”

“You’re not good enough.”

“If you don’t work out until it hurts up every day, you will lose your edge and someone will come along and beat you.”

These are some words from an athlete’s inner critical coach. Each of us have a voice inside our head, perhaps an echo from a parent or a high school coach, that sets the tone for our workouts.

“That workout was hard, and I made it through all the tough miles.”

“My workouts were solid and I’m ready to increase my weight/distance next week!”

“I feel sick today, I’ll take care of myself and focus on eating healthy so I can get back to a full workout in a few days.”

These are familiar phrases from an athlete’s inner compassionate coach. Which types of messages are running through your head during and after a workout? If they are more critical than compassionate, 2017 is the year to fire your critical coach and hire a compassionate coach.

Step One: Conduct an Inner Coach Performance Review.

Over the next week or two, put the voice inside your head through a performance review. Just like a manager observes employee behavior and conducts a yearly performance review, notice the messages your inner coach is sending you before, during and after workouts.

Here are some questions for your performance review checklist:

• Would you say those things out loud to a friend who needed your support at the gym?
• Do the messages you hear from your inner critical coach push you closer to loving your sport more or burning out?
• If your coach is critical, can you think of a specific person that voice reminds you of - a critical authority figure in your youth?

Step Two: Give your a coach a raise, Put him/her on probation or Fire your coach!

Raise! If you have an inner compassionate coach and find yourself saying mostly positive things, congratulations! Give your coach a raise by taking time to let the feeling of success sink in after a great workout.

Probation: If your coach is critical, is it a voice from your youth? If so, recognize that the person may have meant well and thought he/she was protecting you. You are an adult now, and your inner coach needs to coach you as an adult, not as a child. Put your inner coach on probation and remind yourself that you are not a child every time a negative, punitive thought crosses your mind.

You're Fired! If your inner coach is critical and you know listening to negative coaching will lead to burnout, fire your critical coach. Evaluate every inner coach comment - if you heard someone say it to a friend, would you agree with them or tell the person to shut up? 'Hire' a more compassionate coach by finding something that went well every time you exercise and taking ten seconds to fully feel a sense of accomplishment and success.

Awareness of the coaching voice in our head is a powerful first step in changing the way we view exercise and overcoming obstacles like busy schedules, physical pain and fatigue and burnout. Let your inner compassionate coach make a positive difference in how many New Year's Resolutions you keep in 2017.

I share my personal story about my inner coach here:

Kathleen Lisson is a certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson or labyrinth walk in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external

Best Tip for Exercise Recovery

How to Recover from a Hard Workout

by Kathleen Lisson

Have you ever done a hard workout and felt like you just couldn't recover in time for your next run? Scientists have found that it could be because of what you are doing AFTER your workout as much as during your workout. Brad Stulberg writes in the Outside article 'Recovery Is All in Your Head' that a meta-analysis titled 'Psychosocial Factors and Sport Injuries: Meta-analyses for Prediction and Prevention' finds that "athletes are most likely to sustain physical injuries during times when psychological and/or social stress is high."

This makes sense because our bodies are recovering and rebuilding from our workouts in the hours after we shower and leave the gym or running trail. Adding stress forces our bodies to choose between dealing with stressful situations or healing and building muscle.

How can endurance athletes increase recovery after a hard workout?

I use activities like taking a nap, meditating and getting a light massage to reduce stress after my hard Sunday runs. A recent Times of San Diego story by Debbie Sklar featured a University of California San Diego School of Medicine study that found an participating in an Ayurvedic routine including meditation, yoga, vegetable-based diet and massage "experienced measurable decreases in a set of blood-based metabolites associated with inflammation, cardiovascular disease risk and cholesterol regulation."

What do you do to maximize your workout recovery?

Read the 'Psychosocial Factors and Sport Injuries: Meta-analyses for Prediction and Prevention' meta-analysis here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27406221

Read 'Meditation + Yoga + Veggie Diet + Massages = Good For Your Health' in the Times of San Diego here: http://timesofsandiego.com/education/2016/09/09/meditation-yoga-veggie-diet-massages-good-for-your-health/

Have you tried ‘everything’ and still can’t get to sleep?

Have you tried ‘everything’ and still can’t get to sleep?

by Kathleen Lisson

Does your room have blackout curtains, a humidifier and the finest bed linens on a comfortable mattress and you still can’t get to sleep at night? The answer may be in your pre-bedtime rituals.

Why Is Sleep Important?

As a San Diego meditation teacher, I know that our number one way to detoxify from the stress of the day is through a good night’s sleep. Meditation can also release stress, but sleep is key to robust health.

How do Insomniacs Try to Go To Sleep?

A Detroit-based study of sleep hygiene among insomniacs found that drinking alcohol, smoking near bedtime and taking naps during the day were common practices in those with insomnia. Read the study, ‘Sleep Hygiene Practices in a Population-Based Sample of Insomniacs,’ published in the Journal of Sleep, here: http://www.journalsleep.org/articles/280509.pdf

My biggest battle is limiting contact with electronics within a half hour of my bedtime. Looking at just one more website or Facebook update is simply too attractive to me and I can easily stay up an hour past my bedtime and then spend another half hour lying in bed with thoughts spinning in my mind.

How Sound Sleepers Fall Asleep

A better bedtime ritual? Set an alarm on my phone for a half hour before bedtime and spend that time reading or performing my pre-sleep essentials - brushing my teeth and applying lotion to my face, arms and legs. Maybe spending time with loved ones or petting my dog? Gazing at the stars or the moon, which are beautiful in San Diego when we don't have a marine layer. Reviewing the needs of the next day and making sure I have prepared everything so I am not stressed or rushed in the morning. Making notes of everything left to do so I won’t have to try to remember them right before I fall asleep.

Fellow meditation teacher Douglas Elam of the Mind Rest Center in Twin Falls, Idaho uses Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 breath to fall asleep. Watch a video of this breath practice here: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/VDR00112/The-4-7-8-Breath-Benefits-and-Demonstration.html

A Meditation Teacher’s Top Four Tips for Falling Asleep

• Set an alarm 30 minutes before bedtime, start your bedtime rituals
• No television or other distracting electronics in the bedroom
• Don’t use your bed for lounging, train your body to associate the bed only with sleep
• Use a meditation or breathing technique if thoughts are preventing sleep

What tips for getting to sleep have worked for you?

Kathleen Lisson is a certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson or labyrinth walk in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external

You know you're a runner that likes to eat - you'll probably enjoy reading this article about eating!

What to Eat Before a Run

What to Eat Before a Run

by Kathleen Lisson

Get a few long distance runners chatting and soon one of them will mention his/her favorite part of the sport - the Eating. Eating before a run is one of the most enjoyable things about running - sneaking one of the kid’s bananas or spooning dollops of peanut butter systematically on everything on the menu makes us feel like a Runner with a capital R even when we’re not in neon-bright ridiculously overpriced running shoes. Runners rely on a few tried and true ingredients and switch up the menu depending on the speed and distance to be covered during the workout.

Here are a few examples:

Breakfast before a jog around the block - the Elvis. Casual days mean portable breakfasts. Enjoy a peanut butter and banana sandwich just the way the King of Rock and Roll liked it before you tune your ipod to the Elvis Presley mix and get “all shook up.”

Sunday morning jog - before I drive up to Carlsbad, CA to run 5-10 miles along the ocean, I fix a full breakfast. Scrambled eggs, toast and oatmeal with peanut butter. Since I will be running aerobically the whole distance, I can handle “real” food as long as it has at least an hour to digest. Scrambled egg burps optional.

Morning of a 5K race - Plain oatmeal as soon as I wake up and then ‘racing hot chocolate’ - protein powder with warm soymilk. Early mornings can be chilly in race day gear, and heating the soymilk turns an ordinary protein shake into a hot drink. Running a 5K race will be 16-30 minutes of hot pursuit and heavy breathing, so make sure even an ‘iron’ stomach is done digesting before the race starts.

Half marathon breakfasts follow one ironclad rule - no new food on race day. Whatever worked before your last long run, that’s what you eat. NOT some newfangled bar or powder you picked up at the race expo. I choose a bowl of oatmeal with protein powder thrown in it and dry toast. I am nervous, so the ‘comfort food’ carbs are easy to keep down.

In every case, focus on eating and enjoying your breakfast, don’t wolf it down in a few quick bites. Envision a relaxing, effortless workout as you slowly chew (or sip) and savor your meal and feel the effect that mindful eating has on your digestion and your morning run. Then put on those obnoxious neon running shoes and have some fun!

Shared with RunningonHappy.com

How to Use Meditation to Get to Sleep Faster

Three Tips for Getting a Full Night's Sleep

by Kathleen Lisson

A full 8-9 hours of restful rejuvenating sleep is a key part of wellness and the only way I can train hard in the morning and then work a full day. The hard part: disconnecting from technology and getting to sleep in the first place.

I have been married for a few years and my husband and I are still working out bedtime rules we can both follow. Turning off electronics a half hour before bedtime and tucking ourselves in at least 8 hours before the morning alarm is set is key to making sure that our tomorrows will be as productive as possible. For me, a busy day filled with emotion almost guarantees tossing and turning after the lights are turned off unless I practice my favorite sleepy-time meditation. My choice: a mantra meditation that lets me focus on well wishes to relieve all being’s suffering. Another meditation practice called body scan has great results for many meditators I have spoken to. I can completely relax and let go when I am totally focused on repeating my mantra in my head.

What's the Difference Between Regular Meditation and Meditation for Sleep?

The difference: in my morning meditation I am sitting and focused on staying alert and in the present moment. In the evening, I am settled comfotably in bed and the focus is on being absorbed in the mantra.

Kathleen’s Bedtime Rules:

• Turn off electronics a half hour before bedtime
• Tuck yourself in at least 8 hours before the morning alarm
• If anxiety is ruining your sleep, end the day with a Mantra Meditation or Body Scan

Kathleen Lisson is a certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson or labyrinth walk in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external

Tips for Overcoming a Running Plateau

How to Get Out of a Running Rut

by Kathleen Lisson

As a San Diego half marathon runner, an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and a RRCA Certified Running Coach I have seen first-hand the effects of getting into a running rut in my off season. I enjoy periodized workouts when training for half marathons, but how do I keep my interest in running for the months I’m not actively training? Here are my tips for getting out of a running plateau.

San Diego offers 12 months of good weather for outdoor workouts, so San Diego athletes can get stuck in a workout plateau if they are working with a growth-based mindset but not a growth-based workout routine. During the first few months of a running program, focusing on improved health is easy - we are running farther and faster and our body is becoming stronger. Once we are locked into our workout, only negative feedback will drive us to prevent the loss of our fitness gains. This prevention mindset feedback is mostly failure based - we can see when we didn't run according to our schedule that our running times are slower and it is harder to complete long runs.

Smart coaches and athletes organize their workouts according to periodization - the concept that athletes get stronger with a workout that changes as the athlete gets closer to competition. All athletes can take advantage of this concept by throwing a few fitness hacks into their routine when their workout gets stale.

Take it up a notch - increase the weight you lift in your weight workout and balance that with less repetitions and sets. If you are stuck at 3 sets of 12, experiment with lifting more weight in 2 sets of 7. Do the math to make sure you are lifting the same total pounds in your entire workout. Changing the weight will allow your muscles to react to heavier weights.

Run longer - stuck in a 6 mile loop routine that stopped giving you results months ago? Run the same weekly mileage, but vary the miles in each workout. For instance, replace two 6 mile runs with running 8 miles one day and 4 miles the other.  Keeping the same total weekly mileage will allow your body to run longer distances without overtraining.

Run your route backwards - Tired of your running route? Seen the same lawn ornaments and especially in San Diego, rock gardens a million times? Try heading out your door in the other direction and notice the difference that running in the opposite direction and on the opposite side of the street can provide.

Fartlek - Bored because you are logging the same mile times for every run? Try Fartlek in your next run. Simply increase the pace from one light pole or fire hydrant along your route to the next one. Return to your normal pace to cool down, then choose another section of the road to sprint to. Runners can improve their times by incorporating this gentle interval work into everyday runs.

Try a new class - If you have a gym membership, there is no excuse to get into a fitness rut. Look at the class schedule and try a class you have never taken. Relish feeling uncoordinated and sore from working muscles in new ways, and return to your tried-and-true routine with a new perspective.

Borrow a friend’s teenager - Do any of your friends have teenagers involved in sports? Ask to go along on one of their weekend solo workouts.  You’ll get a chance to try out a different stretching and warmup routine and push the pace with a new partner. This is especially valuable for athletes who have played the same sport for decades. Exercise science has improved since the days we stretched out in high school. Check out the new routines and add what works for you to your regular exercise regimen.

How I Stay Fit - One San Diego Runner's Story

What does running REALLY do for you?

By Kathleen Lisson

San Diego Runner's Secret to Lifetime Fitness

From the outside, I look like a success story. I have been the same dress size for 25 years. I wear out two pairs of running shoes per year. I have raised thousands of dollars for charity through my long distance running.

What do I look like from the inside? Running and meditation are the top two ways I deal with strong emotions. If I feel cooped up, I run. If I feel emotional, I run. If I have a big decision to make, I need to 'run it out' in my heart during a long, slow run. Being injured has shown me (the hard way) that running is the key to my inner balance, so I protect my ability to run four ways.

My top secret to keeping fit is focusing on my overall wellness, not just the number on the scale or the fitness watch. I make my wellness a priority by:

• Nourishing my body. I eat smart by following Brian Wansink’s tips for preventing mindless eating. I serve meals from salad sized plates for natural portion control and leave only fruit and healthful snacks on the kitchen counter. If I feel sick and bloated, I won't want to run.

• Keeping track of my heart rate. If my morning pulse starts rising and I feel cranky and tired, I may be overtraining. I stop overtraining in its tracks by booking a relaxing massage and shortening my workouts for the next few days.

• Recruiting a team to help me stay fit and healthy. I meditate with a group once a week, train for half marathons with Team in Training, get a massage at least once a month, have a weekly ‘date night’ with my husband and see my doctor and dermatologist for regular checkups. I know I can face and overcome any obstacles I confront if I have my team behind me.

• Having a Plan B. I have faced many obstacles over the years, including running injuries, a sprained ankle, relationship breakups, long hours at work and a skin cancer diagnosis. I was able to bounce back because I had a Plan B - a list of alternatives for my preferred exercise routine. In fact, switching up my normal routine is sometimes just the change I needed to prevent workout boredom.

What does running REALLY mean to you and how do you preserve your ability to run?

Kathleen Lisson is a RRCA Running Coach, certified Meditation Teacher and Labyrinth Facilitator and teaches Meditation and Mindfulness at IPSB college in San Diego. Sign up for a private meditation lesson or labyrinth walk in the comfort of your home here: https://www.massagebook.com/San_Diego~Massage~sandiego?src=external

Mindset Training for Endurance Athletes - Do You Promote or Prevent?

Mental Training for San Diego Runners and Cyclists

Mental Training Tips for Runners

by Kathleen Lisson

Shirley Archer has a great article in the July issue of the IDEA Fitness Journal. In 'What is Mindset Training? A Primer,' Archer covers many different types of mindsets, including promotion vs. prevention, fixed vs. growth and 10 key negative mindsets.

Promotion and Prevention are a powerful set of mindsets in my life. Am I promoting my wellness when I take time to exercise and receive massage and meditate, or am I preventing disease?

Promotion seems to work better in the first few month of a behavior change. Switching to a prevention mindset once the new wellness behavior has been established enables athletes to keep performing the new behavior when new gains and successes aren't as common. For instance, during the first few months of a running program, promoting improved health is easy - we are running farther and faster and our body is becoming stronger.

Once we reach our goal weekly mileage, a prevention mindset can help runners keep up with our training, even when our bodies aren't getting leaner or our times faster. In a promotion mindset, feedback will be success based - a new, faster 5K time or feeling that a ten mile run is 'easier' on our bodies than it used to be. Prevention mindset feedback is failure based - we can see when we didn't run according to our schedule that our running times are slower and it is harder to complete long runs.

Overtraining feedback can also be failure-based - feeling exhausted, a higher resting heart rate and changes in mood and sleep patterns are signals that overtraining may be happening.

Read more about Mindset Training here: http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/what-is-mindset-training-a-primer

How to Combat Negative Stress - advice from a running coach

How Runners Reduce Stress

by Kathleen Lisson

Meditation can relieve stress in endurance athletes

Running coach Jason Fitzgerald wrote an excellent article detailing the two kinds of stress that endurance athletes face - the "eustress" positive stress of a rigorous training schedule and the "distress" negative stress of tension, anger, conflict, illness, grief and anxiety we can experience in our daily lives.  I liked that Coach Fitzgerald mentioned that runners will often just look to reduce stress from running with sport-specific items like foam rollers and compression socks instead of taking a big picture look at reducing the overall stress level of their lives. Two activities he recommended for long distance runners looking to reduce their negative stress included meditation and volunteering.

I agree! Both meditation and volunteering for Girls on the Run San Diego have reduced the stress I feel in my body and helped me to keep to an endurance runner's training schedule.

How do you reduce the distress in your life?

Read Coach Fitzgerald's article here: http://strengthrunning.com/2016/03/how-to-reduce-stress/

How to combat Runner's Burnout and silence the inner critical coach: VIDEO

How to Combat Runner's Burnout

by Kathleen Lisson

As a RRCA-certified running coach, I have spoken about runner's burnout with fellow runners and felt the effects of runner's burnout in my own running practice. In this video, I share one technique for combating runners burnout and explain the role of our inner critical coaches and compassionate coaches. 

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/xlU3C1uLz8w

A 45 minute Swedish Massage can help you stay healthier!

Results of a Study of the Effects of a Massage on the Immune System

by Kathleen Lisson, CMT, CLT

As a long distance runner, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my health so that I can stick to my training schedule.

The 1989 Loma Linda University study, 'Effects of Long-Endurance Running on Immune System Parameters and Lymphocyte Function in Experienced Marathoners' found that "exhaustive endurance exercise in marathon runners is associated with many significant perturbations in immune system parameters, most of which return to normal levels at 21 h of recovery." Even though I am not a marathon runner of ultrarunner, I am lowering or "perturbing" my immune system for an entire day after my long run. I want to do healthful things to improve my immune system the rest of the week.

I do not get a massage immediately after running, but I have included massage as one of my wellness practices, because of its positive effects on my immune system. A 2010 study from the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychaitry and Behavioral Neurosciences found that healthy adults can benefit from a single 45 minute Swedish massage.

According to the article, "Adults Demonstrate Modified Immune Response After Receiving Massage, Cedars-Sinai Researchers Show" on the Cedars-Sinai website, results included "significant changes in lymphocyes ...a large decrease in Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) a hormone believed to play a role in aggressive behavior and linked to helping cause increases in the stress hormone cortisol ...a decrease in levels of the stress hormone cortisol (and) ...a notable decrease in most cytokines produced by stimulated white blood cells.

Read more about the study here: https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-Us/News/News-Releases-2010/Adults-Demonstrate-Modified-Immune-Response-After-Receiving-Massage-Cedars-Sinai-Researchers-Show.aspx

The Abstract of 'A Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals' by Mark Hyman Rapaport, Pamela Schettler, and Catherine Bresee and published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine on October 2010 is here: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2009.0634

What do you do to improve your immune system during your long distance running training?

Adding Meditation to Your Long Runs

How Do You Overcome a Difficult Run?

by Kathleen Lisson

Meditation and Running

Brad Stulberg recently wrote about the link between meditation and long distance running in the Competitor.com article 'Is Running Meditation.' Stulberg interviewed San Diego ultrarunner Cameron Rentch and offered tips on how to add meditation to long runs. In the article Rentch states that he uses meditation during practice or a race if he starts to focus on the more painful aspects of the run. He focuses on his breath instead of the negative thoughts.

My favorite tip is to direct attention to your breath during a steady state run, then to different areas of your body and the nature surrounding you as you run.

I agree that 'flow' is different than meditation. When I experience 'flow' there is no choice and meditation is about choosing to focus on a certain thing, like the breath.

The article is here: http://running.competitor.com/2015/07/training/is-running-meditation_132201

Runners: A quick trick to increase your weekly mileage - remembering your rave runs?

Positive Memories Good for Improving Running Performance

by Kathleen Lisson

An amazing run in Washington DC a few years ago... 

A recent article on the Triathlete website by Mackenzie Lobby Havey titled 'Study Finds Recalling Positive Memories Can Impact Performance' discussed the effects of a study published in the journal 'Memory.' According to the study results, college athletes exercised more when they made a habit of remembering good training experiences.

I go through phases where I am super eager to get out there and log some miles, and periods of time when I have to drag myself into my running shoes to stick to my training schedule. I am interested to see if setting aside time to remember great running experiences will help me stick to a hard training schedule.

Read the article here: http://triathlon.competitor.com/2015/06/training/study-finds-recalling-positive-memories-can-impact-performance_117976

Read the abstract for the study, conducted by University of New Hampshire psychologists Mathew J. Biondolillo and David B. Pillemer and titled 'Using memories to motivate future behaviour: An experimental exercise intervention' here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09658211.2014.889709

Where to Get a Running Analysis in San Diego

Where to Get a Running Analysis in San Diego

By Kathleen Lisson

After struggling for years with injuries that stopped my ability to run for weeks and months at a time and last winter's ankle sprain, I am ready to put a stop to my running injuries and build a stronger body. I am running the La Jolla Half Marathon this weekend and want to strengthen my legs to be able to run the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon in May 2015 and run the Triple Crown in 2016.

I have always been fascinated with the idea of getting a personal running analysis, so I made an appointment with physical therapist Nicole Miller at Movement Performance San Diego in Carlsbad. Nicole greeted me and asked about my running history, then put LED markers on my joints and used a high speed video camera and treadmill with pressure/force sensor to record video of my walking and running. The best part was when I could take a look at myself running and really see what my body is doing every step of the way. She then measured my hip strength.

My Running Analysis Video from Movement Performance San Diego

Actually seeing video of my running gave me new insight on how my body moves.

I turns out that my gluteus medius and gluteus maximus are weak and my hip flexors are tight. Nicole gave me a list of exercises I can do to strengthen my hips. I look forward to strengthening my hips and staying uninjured for the rest of the half marathon season. 

Why do long distance runners keep on getting injured?

Why do long distance runners keep on getting injured?

by Kathleen Lisson

As a long distance runner, I am learning so much at the Movement Performance Institute 'Evaluation and Treatment of the Injured Runner: A Biomechanical Approach' class taught by Christopher M. Powers from USC. The class is in Los Angeles, so I drove up from my home in San Diego for the weekend.

My top takeaways from day one include:

• Runners are tough clients - we are Type A, focused on maintaining and improving our conditioning and VO2 Max more than our musculoskeletal system. 

• Runners injuries are based on the way we run and/or overuse a.k.a. how many steps we are taking. 

• Runners are all too often focused on the 'quick fix.' We want to keep on running. Just fix it! But - do we treat underlying causes of our running injuries or just want to mask the symptoms so we can keep lacing up our shoes?

• Runners are always on the line between training and overtraining. When we overtrain too much, we risk injury and totally derailing our training schedule. 

The four issues we face are: 

Shock absorbtion, both passive and active- do we rely too much on passive shock absorption (bones, cartilage & shoes) and our quads to absorb the shock of pounding the pavement? This may lead to injuries like stress fractures, plantar fasciitis and joint pain. 

Limb alignment and stability- do we have excessive hip adduction and internal rotation, how strong is our butt?

Pelvis and trunk stability- is our glute medius weak?

Foot alignment and stability- do we pronate? 

We also learned about the top ten common running injuries, including patellofemoral pain, patella tendonitis, iliotibial band syndrome, trochanteric bursitis, low back pain, achilles tendonitis, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, stress fracturies and hamstring injuries.

I want to use this information to become a better running coach and sports massage therapist for my clients, getting runners out of pain and back to participating in activities they love. 

According to the class overview: "Altered lower quarter mechanics can frequently contribute to various musculoskeletal conditions. Understanding how abnormal limb function can contribute to the mechanisms of specific joint dysfunction is essential for the evaluation and treatment of common orthopaedic disorders. This evidence-based course will review the anatomy and mechanics of the lower kinetic chain, particularly in relation to specific pathologies of the ankle, knee and hip. Emphasis will be placed on current research findings in the areas of gait analysis, lower limb function, and joint biomechanics. Implications for the evaluation and treatment of various musculoskeletal conditions will be addressed."

Learn more about the Movement Performance Institute here: http://movementpi.com/about-mpi/

When Should Runners Get a Sports Massage?

When do I “Feel Like Getting a Massage?”

by Kathleen Lisson

Wherever I am in my training season: basebuilding, sharpening or tapering, I schedule my massages once every month. I have used two techniques for remembering to get a massage - either I go on or close to the first of the month, or I rebook my next month’s massage appointment immediately after my previous massage.

If I am in a particularly hard phase of training, I will keep a look out for signs that I need to book a last-minute massage on my next rest day. My personal warning signs for overtraining include obvious signs and not-so-obvious signs.

The obvious signs:

• Sore leg muscles for a few days in a row.
• Getting minor injuries more often than usual, visits from old injuries I thought were healed.

Not-so-obvious signs:

• Catching every bug and illness that is “going around.”
• Changes in my sleep - sleeping like a log for hours or staying up extra late.
• Feeling bad exhausted (not good exhausted) and less motivated to run every day.
• Feeling agitated and struggling with my relationships.

I have also read that taking one’s pulse right after waking up and recording the results will allow an athlete to catch overtraining before it leads to injury. Recording daily results in one’s training journal and looking at the average heart rate at the end of the week is the best method for examining potential parasympathetic hyperactivity, according to the Evidence of Parasympathetic Hyperactivity in Functionally Overreached Athletes study, found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23657173

Some athletes just opt to only take a rest day and end up on the couch eating a bowl of ice cream when they encounter these symptoms. Even worse, some just pop a few pain pills and try to run through their symptoms.

I like to go the extra mile and get a massage to completely relax my muscles and focus on drinking water and eating clean so I can come back at 100% on my next week of training.

Tips to Combat Running Boredom

I'm Bored With Running - Help!

So Many Gels, So Many Miles to Run

by Kathleen Lisson

As a half marathon runner, I know that training for a half marathon can be a months-long process focused almost entirely on a single activity - running. To break the monotony on longer runs, runners can try the following tricks:

Fartleks - Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play” and this technique will bring a little fun back into running. Remember when you were a kid and raced your friends down the street? Fartleks are in the same spirit. If you start feeling bored on a run, simply pick an object a hundred feet away, like a light pole or intersection, and pick up the pace until you reach it. Slow down and recover at a slow run until you feel ready to play again. Alternating the pace of your run will make it go by faster and improve your endurance.

Run your route backwards - Always take a right out your front door on your usual loop? Try taking a left and running your route from the opposite direction. Notice what is different.

Play backseat games - Remember long car drives as a kid? Use the same techniques your do with your family to beat boredom on a run. Can you find something starting with every letter of the alphabet on your next run? How many different types of trees do you pass? How many different birds do you hear?

Run in the morning / evening - If you have a flexible schedule, try switching your usual evening run with a morning workout or vice versa.

Brainstorm - Some of my most creative ideas have come to me while running. Use your next run to brainstorm about a problem or challenge you are facing. Having the luxury of time to think about all angles of the issue may enable you to find an innovative solution.

Training for a half marathon is a big challenge. Don’t let boredom sideline you from achieving your dreams. I hope that trying one or more of these five simple tips helps you put the excitement back into your running schedule.