Three Things Thursday: Summer Running Hazards

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Coco

I’m sure you know about the serious dangers of summer running–heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and dehydration are nothing to mess with. If it’s hot, run early, run late, run in the shade, or run on the treadmill. Hydrate before, during and after your run,take it easy and know when to say when. But there are three things about summer running that I find can be even more annoying than the heat index.

  1. Sweat in my eyes. My hair isn’t long enough to wear a headband and I don’t usually wear a hat when I’m running at o’dark-thirty. As a result, one hazard unique to my summer running is sweating so much that it drips in my eyes. It really stings!
  2. Chafing. Warmer weather means skimpier outfits which means more chances for skin-to-skin contact that can lead to painful chafing. I stick with my compression shorts for longer runs (they don’t ride up) or liberally apply BodyGlide to sensitive areas.
  3. Automatic sprinklers. I usually run on the more forgiving asphalt of the street, but I walk on the sidewalks for my warm-up. I discovered this summer that several neighbors have automatic sprinklers that go off at seemingly random times as I’m walking by. If I wasn’t awake when I headed out the door, getting soaked by a sprinkler nozzle that popped out of the ground with no warning will do the trick.

Have you noticed any hazards of summer running?

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(Almost) Wordless Wednesday (The Work Edition)

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Coco

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I guess he wanted to make sure I didn’t miss his note!

Posted in Work | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Running Boulder

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Coco

Last week I had a crazy, one-day business trip to Boulder, Colorado.  After getting zapped and frisked by TSA, waiting for storms to blow over so our flight could take off, sitting on the tarmac in Denver for 45 minutes waiting for a gate, waiting 20 minutes for a shuttle bus to the rental car place, and driving 45 min to Boulder, I checked into my hotel at just before midnight, beyond exhausted.

Before I crawled into bed I noticed a local map on the desk showing something called Boulder Creek Path running right by my hotel. I Googled it on my iPhone, and it looked like a popular running route. I set my alarm for 6, figuring that would allow enough time for a run before I had to be ready for my 8:30 meeting.

As often happens when I am stressed, I woke up early–shortly after 5. I saw that it was getting light outside and decided to heed the call of the beautiful Boulder mountains.

The concierge confirmed that the path was safe and pointed me in the right direction. It really does run along Boulder Creek, which was roaring from the recent rain.

Parts of the path were flooded, but there were well-marked detours. 

I encountered a few other runners and bicyclists, as well as this guy, who wasn’t shy at all

This was my favorite view–there is just something about those mountains!

I ran for about 45 minutes, and covered about 4.5 miles. My goal was to enjoy the run and I took time to soak in the scenery! 

My work meeting was succesful and my trip home was (thankfully) uneventful, but my run was easily the highlight of my trip!

Have you ever been to Boulder?

Do you have a favorite place away from home that you like to run, hike or bike?

Posted in Fitness, Work | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

It Takes A Blogosphere — The Great Fundraising Act

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Coco

I don’t know Susan, but enough of my #fitblog friends do that I decided to dedicate today’s post to the auction being held today (July 25) to raise money for her cancer treatments.

Susan is a 20-something woman from Canada who has a great health/fitness/food blog at The Great Balancing Act. Her life was turned upside down when she recently was diagnosed with Lymphoma. We all know that cancer can strike anyone at anytime, but it is still hard to take when it strikes someone that seems so healthy and has been working so hard to take care of herself.

You probably don’t know Susan either, but you can help her while helping yourself to some great auction items.

You can read more about the auction in the Fitblog newsletter.

You can check out the auction items and logistics on Janetha’s Meals And Moves blog.

One thing I love about the blogosphere is the supportive community I have found. Today’s auction is a shining example of people pulling together to help out someone in need.

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Knowing When To Say When

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Coco

I am usually a “no excuses,” “suck it up” and “get it done” person when it comes to my exercise routine. When my work is in overdrive, I still set my alarm for 5:00 to get in my workout–I need to take care of myself, balance the stress, and get a hit of endorphins. On weekends, I get up at 6:00 to fit in a long run before the rest of the day’s activities or a yoga program before church. Even when I’m tired, I get up and “just do it,” and I’m usually glad I did.

But I also am learning when to say “when.” Last week I had a several nights in a row where I just did not get enough sleep (barely 6 hours). While I can keep that up for a few days, it does catch up with me. My business trip to Colorado was the last straw–an exhausting trip out, under 5 hours of sleep at the hotel, and an important meeting took their toll. When I got home at midnight, I decided that I really needed to catch up on my sleep. I emailed my assistant that I was going to sleep in the next day, turned off my alarm, and crawled into bed.

I ended up sleeping for about 7 hours, until 7:30. I felt well-rested, and decided to continue my gentle morning by doing a Rodney Yee program instead of hitting the elliptical and doing my usual free weights routine. Between that and a pot of my favorite Starbucks Komodo Dragon coffee, I was ready to face the day.

This weekend’s heat wave brought me another opportunity to say “when.” As much fun as I had running with my friend last weekend, I convinced her that it would not be a good idea to run outside this weekend, when the temperature would be in the 80s by 5:00 am, never mind the humidity, heat index, or air quality. We made plans for next weekend, and I made a date with my treadmill.

When I saw this weather report at 6:30 am, I knew I had made the right decision.

I wasn’t sure how long I could stand to run on my treadmill, but I had a few episodes of Desperate Housewives to catch up on, so I decided to go for 8 miles (plus my warm-up and cool-down). I chose the “Sport Training” program at level 3.  I ran at 6.0 mph when the incline was over 1.8, and bumped up to 6.3 mph when the incline was lower, although that didn’t happen very often. It was a solid workout and I had to dig in to keep going at the end.

(miles, calories, time)

When I finished my cool-down, I checked the weather again:

I think I made the right decision!

I still have one more hour of the Desperate Housewives season finale to watch–I am saving it for my next heat wave-induced treadmill workout.

When do you say “when”?

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