Friday Thrive
Hi there! Happy Friday! Can you believe May is right there on the other side of the weekend? I’m personally quite excited because the end of April is the official end of rainy season. Since the start of the rainy season (October), we’ve broken the 122-year-old record of rain with 145 days of rain. Bring on May sunshine! Along with the start of May, here are some other things that I am enjoying this week.
Shop
How adorable is this Saucony 26.2 t-shirt? Many of my athletes are preparing and tapering for their spring marathons right now and I’m so excited for them – and my excitement to run CIM again this year is building also. I am getting the itch to marathon train again, but my training won’t start until sometime in August. In the meanwhile, I’ll just have to wear this shirt to show my love for 26.2.
Read
“Athletic Amenorrhea: How Does Running Affect Your Period?” by Tina Muir
Tina talks on her blog this week about dealing with hypothalamic amenorrhea and provides some excellent information on the subject matter. I highly recommend reading it, whether or not you deal with period problems. I deeply admire Tina Muir for speaking publicly about her struggles with amenorrhea.
Every woman who struggles with amenorrhea has a different story, and what I find so inspiring about Tina’s is that she opens up for female runners to share those stories and support each other. It’s an emotionally and physically turbulent time to deal with women’s health issues – as it is to deal with any health issue, whether you are male or female. I can imagine how hard it must have been for Tina to address amenorrhea in a very public forum, but it is so valuable to talk about these issues which too often get dismissed as “just part of running.”
Running affects each individual differently and each individual has different hormones. You have to find what’s best for you and your health and not compare your training or, if relevant, your experience with amenorrhea to others.
If you lose your period, don’t think that it’s a relief – it can be a sign of low energy balance, too much physical stress (ie too much running or too high of training intensity), or serious hormonal issues. The risks of low bone density, infertility, and other health problems are too high compared to the monthly break from cramps. And you don’t know the causes until you seek professional medical help – and there can be a wide range of causes, from hypothalamic amenorrhea to PCOS to endometriosis, all of which are treated differently.
Run
I have an odd propensity for 1-K repeats. They are versatile – you can do fewer repetitions at a faster pace for a VO2max workout, or more repetitions slightly faster than tempo pace for cruise intervals. They are just long enough to not feel as awful as shorter intervals but not so long that you really have to embrace the burning discomfort (as with mile repeats).
My latest workout over on Runkeeper’s blog is a shorter, faster version of 1-K repeats: 5 x 1-K (1000 meters or 0.62 miles) at 5K race pace. If you are nervous about holding your 5K pace or tend to slow down after starting out too fast, these intervals will help you practice pacing. Even if you aren’t training for a 5K or 10K, these intervals will improve your running economy and aerobic capacity.
Drink
Beet juice! I started drinking Red Ace Organic Beet Juice shots again this week to help with recovery. I tried beet juice before my peak workout as well, and while I didn’t magically whip out 6:xx mile paces out of nowhere, I held on strong to my goal pace. I’m going to be trying the beet juice again on the day of the 10K race. Plenty of research suggests that it’s worth a shot (pun intended) and since it didn’t upset my stomach on a hard workout, there shouldn’t be any detrimental effects.
Recover
As I mentioned in Wednesday’s post on treating plantar fasciitis, rolling out the arches of my feet makes a significant difference. Even if you don’t struggle with PF, the release of tension that comes with rolling out the bottom of the feet is amazing. Find a ball or rolling pin style foam roller and roll your foot on top of it for a couple of minutes and you will feel so much more relaxed.
And yes, that’s Ollie’s paw in the photo. We had just come in from a run together and I think he wanted in on the myofascial release action.
And finally, here’s a photo of Charlie contemplating how he feels about our new sofa. The puggle life is full of many, many emotions.
[Tweet “What to run, read, and more this week via @thisrunrecipes #FridayThrive @saucony @tigertail @runkeeper #running”]
What have you read recently?
How do you recover and relax during a hard week of training?
What are your plans this weekend?
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18 Responses
It seems like its rained alot here the past few weeks so Im hoping May brings warmer temps and more sunshine. However, I remember last May was really rainy so I hope we don’t have that again! Tina is so awesome for sharing her story. I love the feeling of rolling out the arches of my feet!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Thank you! I hope you have a great weekend too! And I certainly hope May brings more sunshine for both of us.
So you already know what my favorite part of this post is, right? I love me some Charlie!!! He is the cutest ever (sorry Star!). And good for you with being able to drink beet juice like that! I have to have it in powder form in a smoothie! And those 5 x 1 repeats at 5k pace are perfect for pacing!! I do a similar workout closer to my races so I’m sure they will show up on my training log soon.
PS – My dad and stepmom are in Banff right now and sending the most stunning pictures!!! #jealous But the snow and cold looks horrendous. It will be 80 here today!!! woohoooo
Have a great weekend…
Every time I post a photo of Charlie, I think of you! Omg I’m jealous also that your dad and stepmom are in Banff! It looks so pretty there…at least in summer!
OMG CHARLIE. You pretty much captured my entire life in that picture.
Amenorrhea. It is so complicated. So many people are like, Just stop running and eat more!” if only it was that easy.
It’s never that easy. It’s overwhelming how complicated amenorrhea and any period-related problem is. And yep, that photo is pretty much my life also, especially since you know Ollie was running at top speed around in the background!
I’m happy you addressed amenorrhea correctly and how it’s different for everyone. you know how fired up I am about anyone who is publicly sharing not only wrong information but downright mean opinion towards Tina’s experience. It’s so upsetting to me to see ignorant runners basically bash our elite running friend – aren’t we all friends? Aren’t we a running community with respect for our fellow runners?!
I wish that respect was more common in the running community!
While I’ve never had PF issues, I have major soleus issues and have been trying to be good about stretching/rolling the entire anatomy chain. I filled an empty water bottle 3/4 and threw it in the freezer. I roll my feet on that and it feels really good.
I bet that feels so good on your soleus!
Hmm beet juice. I hear such good things but hmm. Ok maybe I will try!
I really like red Ace – since it’s concentrated and lightly sweetened with some fruit juice, it’s easy to get down!
I used to get through the really tough workouts by rewarding myself with a beer or some wine afterwards, but I can’t do that anymore. Well, I can’t do the really tough workouts anymore either, but sometimes an easy pace feels really tough right now and I wish I had some sort of reward! Coffee just isn’t the same. 🙁 I’m so glad it’s May on Monday! BRING ON THE SUN!!!!
I can’t wait for more days of sunshine than rain! May better be beautiful!
Hmm, the end of rainy season? I think ours is just getting started!
And poor Charlie…he looks like he is gradually becoming resigned to his inferior new couch 😉
After his initial shock, he came to like the new couch…although he doesn’t understand why he’s not allowed to sit up on the top!
OMG, what an adorable dog!! I got quite the chuckle with your picture. I actually have not read an actual book in forever. I mean, years and years. I blame it on lack of time in my day, and lack of attention span! I stick with magazines instead.
The rain is just starting here in Ohio. It’s been dreary and raining all weekend. I didn’t mind though because I really needed to do some indoor stuff (house cleaning), so it was perfect!
Thank you! I’m awful at reading books also, especially fiction…I took months to get through my last fiction book! I hope the weather clears up for you!