Arthur had given up. He was told he would never walk without assistance again. That was his reality, until he decided to change it.

Has anyone in your family given up on running? Have you?

Anyone who has given up needs to watch this video. And then start taking the first steps towards making a change. The only reality you have is the one you allow yourself to live.

Your reality won’t change unless you decide to change it.

What’s stopping you?

In many families, everyone has a shared passion for running. The mom runs and the dad runs, the son runs and the daughter runs as well. If you come from such a running family, you probably understand that this shared passion is only natural and to be expected.

But even if you and your family members are all avid runners, there’s a good chance that you rarely run together — and an even better chance that you’ve never done a workout with another family member. This is likely a result of differences in ability. Unlike other sports, where people of various abilities can recreationally play together, runners usually train with others at their level of ability. If the parents and the kids are all on different levels, it’s unlikely that any would feel comfortable partaking in a family workout.

This is too bad. Although your family can certainly bond in other ways, such as by visiting the in-laws or cooking a meal together at home, the bond that is forged during a tiring athletic pursuit is unique. For this reason, a joint family workout can make for a great bonding opportunity. And, when done right, the workout can be designed to appeal to all talent levels and insure that the whole family is involved and engaged. Here are a few workout examples:

• The out-and-back - Sometimes the best workouts are also the simplest ones. If you have a long stretch of sidewalk or a bike path in your area, a timed out-and-back workout can be a great way to push your fitness and involve the whole family at the same time. Have the whole family agree on a timed length to the workout. This length could be 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or any other duration of your choosing. Once this is determined, the whole family can line up along the path and start the workout together. Each person runs at a tempo or threshold pace and turns around when half of the agreed-upon time has elapsed. They then each try to maintain their pace on the way back. The goal is for all family members to finish together, at the same time and place.
• Hill work - A hill workout is the great equalizer of running. It narrows the difference between the most and the least talented, and it insures that everyone walks away tired and probably a bit sore. Hill work is most easily done by having the entire family sprint in a controlled manner up a hill that is 200 meters or longer in length. Once at the top, everyone can group up and then jog or walk back down together. This can then be repeated for six or more sets.
• Ladders - Ladders are a great workout when trying to plan a workout that both beginners and experts will enjoy. For this workout you’re going to need a circular course of some sort, either in an open field or, of course, on a track. Everyone will run around the course, sprinting or jogging based on the time on their watch. The workout is titled “Ladders” because it builds gradually in intensity – from 90 seconds slow and 20 fast to 20 seconds slow and 90 fast – before slowing back down again and finishing where it started.

These are three of the best workouts to do when you want to accommodate the whole family. Although running and working out with the family may necessitate some compromises and alterations, it is ultimately a worthwhile activity to pursue from time to time. If your family has a running passion, after all, it’s always good to share that passion and run together.

Bio: Harold Hunt is a blogger and avid runner who lives in Pittsburg, and a repeat contributor to Running in the Family.  He runs promotional social media campaigns for Olathe self storage and also writes for Phone Bul­letin, a site with news about mobile phones and technology.

So you’ve turned your kids into dedicated runners? Congratulations! Being a runner is not only a great way to stay in shape, but it’s also a state of mind, a sense of responsibility, and an activity that your children can hopefully pursue for the rest of their lives. Running allows them to have goals, setbacks, and challenges. It is a sport that they can do anywhere in the world – and they can probably find people there to join them on their run as well. Running, in short, is an admirable passion. You should be proud that you’ve instilled that passion in your children.

But every time your kid steps outside to go for a run at night, in the heat, in the cold, or in a new place, you may worry as a parent that you’ve given them a passion that sometimes renders them unsafe. While there are certainly places in the world where you may want to think twice about letting your child run, a run at night or in the cold is not inherently a dangerous proposition – so long, of course, that your son or daughter is prepared. To help insure that they are prepared for the elements, here are some questions to ask them before they head out:

Hot Weather

• Have you been hydrating today? What color is your pee?
• Do you have a water bottle? If not, please tell me where you can get water along the run, if necessary?
• Can you promise me you’ll stop if your legs get heavy or you start feeling a cold sweat?

Cold Weather

• Are your fingers covered?
• How about your head?

At Night

• Are you wearing reflective clothing, or at least light colors?
• Where are you going? Can you promise to stay away from traffic, or in well-lit places, or both?

In A New Place

• Can you tell me exactly where you plan to run?
• What is our current address?
• How can you reach me if there’s a problem?

In a Potentially Dangerous Area

• Will you carry mace? If not, can you pick up your running pace?
• Can you leave any valuable watches or other equipment behind?
• Do you really need to run today?

Even if your child resents it, make a point of asking these kinds of questions before they head out for a run. It will, ultimately, make them safer. Furthermore, you can tell them: once you do this without prompting, I won’t ask these questions anymore. I’ll know that you’re a safe runner.

Good luck, happy running, and – as always – be safe.

Bio: Harold Hunt is a blogger and avid runner based out of Pittsburgh. He also writes for Phone Bulletin, a site with news about mobile phones and technology.

If you’re like most runners, you know how good running makes you feel and you probably wish that you could get more people to run so that they could experience it too. But, just like me, you probably have a ton of family members and friends that just don’t get it.

“You run that far on purpose?”

“I don’t want to punish my knees.”

“I don’t see the point, unless someone is chasing you.”

These are the comments I get from most of my extended family. I’m sure you’ve heard similar ones from yours.

The last quote in particular is something that a cousin of mine would say. Now don’t get me wrong — he’s no couch potato. He does all sorts of outdoor activities, including hiking, bicycling, and paragliding. He just doesn’t run.

Until now.

His brother is a runner. He’s been trying for years to get his brother to run, and kept hearing the same response — “I don’t understand the point of running, unless someone is chasing you.” So he challenged his brother with the Run For Your Lives.

In this race you get to negotiate 12 obstacles along a 5K running course — while being chased by zombies! My formerly non-running cousin is now inspired to evade the zombies, defeat the obstacles, and while he’s at it also run 5K. So now he’s pulled together a training plan, laced up his shoes, and has become a runner!

Now this type of event may not appeal to running purists, is not RRCA certified, and will most definitely NOT land you a 5K PR. But it is a heck of a lot of fun, very unique, and attracts people to running who may not otherwise have ever given running a try.

As more and more people flock to running as a way to stay healthy, they are finding more and more ways to make running enjoyable. Whether you’re a Tough Mudder, a Princess, a Warrior, a Fairy, or a Perp, chances are there’s a unique race out there just for you or someone you know.

So find a unique event near you that would inspire someone else in your family to run, and then invite them to join you!

Because at its heart, running is not about PR’s and intervals and VO2MAX — running is about staying healthy while having fun. Enjoy!

Sometimes it may seem too hard to start a fitness regimen. Perhaps you, or someone in your family, has let things slide for too long. You’re not sure how you got here, but you know you have to make a change — you just don’t know how. It seems too hard. You just can’t imagine running, or doing any other physical activity for that matter. There has to be an easier way, right? Wrong. You can do it. Just start slow and take it one step at a time.

The Real Costs of Opting For The Easier way

Liposuction may sound like an easy way to trim down, but do the risks and rewards of liposuction outweigh the hard work of maintaining a healthy diet?

Today’s society sends the message that results must happen immediately. This message is conveyed in many health and fitness products such as quick fix diet pills being an easy solution to weight loss. With lipsuction being the quickest shortcut to weight loss, it’s easy to miss the pitfalls that come with taking the easy way out.

The real cost of liposuction is greater than just the monetary value. Trying to take a shortcut such as liposuction causes you to miss key steps with health and fitness such as learning exercise routines, adapting to a healthy diet, and understanding the work ethic of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For example, the monetary cost of thigh liposuction ranges from $2,000 to $5,000 for the surgery to be performed. But the real thigh lipsuction cost is in future mistakes due to missing out on the key steps of maintaining the weight loss you’ve achieved. If old habits resurface after liposuction, the weight will return and may increase to an even greater scale from stress.

Lipo cost has another negative value besides forming habits. Will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror and be happy that you earned it? Is the example you set for your children and peers the right one to follow? Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet creates confidence and self-appreciation of working hard and accomplishing a goal.

Results from maintaining a healthy diet and consistently exercising will take a long time to appear. However, the habits learned from eating healthy and exercising correctly are invaluable. Learning how to avoid meals full of sugar such as pancakes and syrup is critical. Healthy substitutes such as eggs, oatmeal, and bananas can only be learned if healthy eating is practiced. The habit of putting in the time to exercise throughout the week can only be created if it is practiced. These habits will never be learned if you take the easy way out.

When healthy new habits are formed, it becomes easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Shortcuts will never be the answer to weight loss. Out of all the liposuction risks, the biggest risks are missing out on key habits, assuming shortcuts are the answer, and missing out on creating the confidence that you can achieve any goal.

Just take it one step at a time.

Image by danedeasy via Flickr

Would you?

I would. At least I think I might start.

Let me explain.

We were at Panera for dinner and our 7yo son, after he had eaten his fair share of chicken noodle soup, sandwich, and yogurt, asked if he could have dessert. The rest of us were still eating, so I fished out a $5 bill and then he went up with my wife to buy his choice. A few minutes later, he marched proudly back, carrying a huge cinnamon roll and $2.51 in change.

Normally we would pay for the desserts using a credit card along with the rest of the food. But this time, seeing the cash really brought home the value of one cinnamon roll. Two dollars and forty nine cents! That’s a lot!! Granted, it was a big one, but its size just served to underscore how inflated (and wasteful) all of this really was. The cinnamon roll was more than he really needed, and $2.49 was more than it should really cost.

So I asked him a question. I asked him if he had the option to take the two dollars and fifty cents and either buy a cinnamon roll or keep the money, what would he do? After all, either way I end up spending the money anyway.

He said he’d keep the money and skip dessert.

Now, we’ve been paying our kids a weekly allowance for a while, and our rule is that when we go to Target or anywhere else, instead of begging us for toys or any other random item they may want on a whim, they can buy whatever they want (as long as it is appropriate) with their own allowance money. Because of this, our kids now know what $3 will buy, what $5 will buy, and what $10 will buy. They know that for the bigger, better toys, they need to save for a few weeks. They get to make their own decisions and take responsibility for those decisions, instead of all the control and decision responsibility being with us (making us the bad guys every time we say no).

I wondered if the same concept could work with desserts.

My seven year old, the one who said he’d skip dessert and keep the money, is a dessert fiend. He would eat sweets constantly all day if he could. This kid lives for dessert.

So lately, enforcing good nutrition has felt more and more like a battle with him. He’s always trying to see how little “real” food and how much dessert he can get away with. And we’re always reminding him that he needs to make healthful choices.

But what’s his motivation? Dessert is coming anyway, and Mommy and Daddy are always providing it. Any occasions where he has to skip dessert are occasions when Mommy or Daddy are being the bad guys and making the decision for him. And then it’s no longer about living and eating healthfully — it’s about us being mean to him and what little educational value there might have been in the discussion is suddenly lost.

And when you look at the long range consequences of that, how are we preparing him to make good food choices independently? If we always tell him what to eat and what not to eat, how will he ever learn to make his own decisions later when he’s on his own? Maybe we’ve just been raising a monster — one that will go out and buy sweets every chance he gets when he’s on his own to make up for all the sweets that his parents had deprived him of.

And this is where I had my big epiphany.

Why not let him start making the choices now?

Of course if we just ask him whether he wants dessert or not, he’ll always say that he wants dessert — as long as we’re buying.

But once he has the choice of getting the dessert or getting the money, now he has to think about what that dessert is worth to him. Yes, it will taste really yummy right now, but with $2.50 he could buy two Hot Wheels or a pack of Silly Bandz. Or, he could skip a few desserts and get a new stuffed animal or maybe even a Beyblade! Now instead of a hollow choice of sweets or no sweets, a whole new world of possibilities opens up for him.

The point is, the choice is his. He can learn that desserts don’t just magically appear. They have value, and their value can be understood in relation to other things. And he can finally decide for himself that perhaps he doesn’t really need that humongous cinnamon roll.

It’s a far cry from making decisions based on nutritional value and health and other adult concepts, which are vitally important but aren’t real to a seven year old — but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

What about you?

I was pumping gas the other day when an advertisement at the pump caught my attention. Some NASCAR driver was promoting that particular brand of gas, backing his recommendation with the quote, “I know more about how my car works than I do about my own body.”

Now I guess for a NASCAR driver that may be a fair thing to say, but it got me thinking — how many Americans do you think could say the same thing? I have no research to back this up, but I would guess that you’d find more Americans would say the same thing rather than the other way around.

And that’s just wrong.

There’s no reason for people to not know how their bodies work, and even less reason for people to take better care of their cars than themselves. When is the last time you gave your body a tune-up?

We worry about putting premium fuel into our cars, but we eat junk at McDonald’s. We worry about changing the oil every 3000 miles, but we’re afraid to go to the doctor for a routine checkup. We rotate and change our tires regularly, but we walk around in old worn down shoes with slanted heels.

And yet, you can replace a car. If it breaks down, you can get another one. A better, newer, faster, and stronger one.

What will you do when your body breaks down?

This is a guest post by Jason Fitzgerald.

Jason Fitzgerald (or Fitz) is the founder of Strength Running, a 2:44 marathoner, and online running coach. He loves spending time on the trails, plotting his next training cycle, strong coffee, and cycling. Strength Running unleashes Fitz’s passion for helping runners achieve their best and prevent running injuries. You can follow Fitz on Twitter at @JasonFitz1.

Each new year is a new opportunity to evaluate what worked last year and what you can improve. This is true for everything: your family life, job, and of course, your running.

Runners often go through the motions day after day, month after month, without taking a step back and looking at their training and planning for the future. Doing so is surprisingly simple and can profoundly improve your running.

This exercise should take you about a half hour and leave you feeling inspired and ready to take over the world. Are you ready?

First, get your training log or open up your online journal. If you don’t have one (shame on you!), this will be trickier, but it can still be done. Use an estimate or guess based on the races you did last year.

We’re going to look at three important variables to improve this year.

1. Volume: How much you run impacts your fitness level and how fast you can race. Add up how much you ran in each month last year. Your goal is to increase each month by about 10–15% on average. You should almost always be striving to run a little bit more than you have in the past. It’s the most sure-fire way of getting faster for new and intermediate runners.

   You can focus on running a more consistent long run, adding a day of running to your weekly plan, or adding an extra mile or two to a few runs every week. Whatever option you choose, make sure you increase mileage gradually and include a day of complete rest or a short, easy run every week.

2. Workouts: How many workouts do you run per week? Workouts are more structured training sessions that include faster running in addition to standard runs. You should aim for 1–2 per week — few runners need more. Focus on long-term aerobic development with long runs, tempo workouts, and fartleks. You’ll get the most reward for your hard effort with these types of workouts.

   Tough interval workouts on the track should be infrequent and saved for pre-race sharpening periods. They can get you in top shape quickly, but are just icing on the cake. They also increase your risk of injury because of their intensity.

3. Races: It’s a new year — now is the time to train for a new race! Make your marathon debut, try an offbeat distance like 8k or 10 miles, or get crazy and do a Muddy Buddy or other adventure race. If you don’t race that often, it’s time to get out there and test your fitness. Running for fun and health is fun, but racing is incredibly exciting.

   A lot of runners actually race too frequently. If the distance is 10k or less, you can do 1–2 races every month. Otherwise, focus on high-quality training and getting in the best shape possible before your goal race. Your results and new personal bests will thank you!

   If you’re attempting a new race you should look for a training plan that will help you reach your goals. It’s easy to have a goal — the tough part is putting a good plan into action that will help you succeed.

Let’s make 2011 the year of milestones — more running, better running, new races, and faster personal bests! Take some time from your day and reflect and what you did last year. How can you improve your training? What worked for you?

Even thirty minutes of planning time can change your entire year — making you faster, more productive with your training time, and happier with your running. Ready to get started?

This holiday season, give yourself the best Christmas present of all. You owe it to yourself. The gift I have in mind for you is one nobody else can give you. You have to give it to yourself. And it’s free.

The gift I’m talking about is the gift of acceptance.

Accept that things are OK. Accept that you are OK. Give yourself a break. Let things be.

The holidays can bring a lot of pressure. We need to figure out what gifts to get everyone else, figure out how to schedule in holiday parties, figure out how to get to the kids’ Christmas plays, and on top of all that figure out how to keep running and working out so that we can still have a little bit of eggnog and Christmas cookies without gaining too much extra weight.

And yet, with all this holiday craziness going on, I continue to read blog posts and running magazine articles about how to improve performance, get faster, avoid injury, eat healthier, cross-train, breathe better, qualify for Boston, run barefoot, and add intervals and tempo runs to my routine.

I no longer have a routine. I have run a total of three times in December.

And that’s OK.

I wrote a post on my other blog about being Too Busy. In that post I pointed out that it’s not a matter of how busy you are, it’s a matter of what your priorities are. And you get to set your priorities.

It’s OK for your priorities to change.

At this time of the year, my running drops down a notch or two on the priority list. Long term, it’s still very important to me. But is it more important that I get a run in today, or that I wrap gifts for the kids?

I have made conscious choices about my priorities, and I accept that. I choose to put my family first. I choose to enjoy the holidays. And I choose not to get stressed about running less.

Running less doesn’t make me any less of a runner. This season, running less means that I can be a better dad.

I accept that, and I’m happy with that.

One you have made your choices and set your priorities, accept them. And be happy with them.

I wish you all happiness, health, prosperity, and peace this holiday season and throughout the New Year.

Yes, that time of year is upon us again. The time of year that no matter whether you run early in the morning, or later in the evening, chances are that if you run outside, you will be running in the dark. And with family life as it is, there are seldom times to run other than early in the morning or later in the evening, so for me this time of year means that practically every run is in the dark.

For many, this means the end of running outside and the start of “treadmill season,” but it doesn’t have to be that way. By taking just a few safety precautions, you can continue running your favorite outside routes — even in the dark!

Stick to what you know

It’s important when running in the dark to stick to familiar territory. Try to run on routes that you know well. Exploring new terrain is a good way to get injured. Small potholes, uneven sidewalks, cracks in the pavement, and sticks and stones in your path can cause you to twist an ankle or take a spill. Don’t risk injury by running on unfamiliar ground.

Stay nimble on your feet

Even if you run familiar routes, you’re bound to step on something unexpected. The other day I was out running in the dark. It had been raining for the previous few days, but the roads had dried off. I had been running on dry pavement and had forgotten about the soggy ground. I cut a corner, ended up stepping in a huge mud puddle. Fortunately, I was running with a light stride and was able to quickly jump back up onto the pavement. When running in the dark, try to keep your weight on the balls of your feet, and be ready to react to unexpected footfalls.

Don’t sweat the pace

When you’re paying extra attention to the ground in front of you, you shouldn’t be pushing the pace. It’s easier to run responsively and react to surprises when your pace is a little slower. It’s more important for you to finish your run without injury than it is to keep the same pace you keep in daylight. Stay safe on the darker stretches of road and save your speed for the well-lit areas.

Use your peripheral vision

The human eye works differently at night than it does during the day. You may have noticed when you walk into the dark that at first everything seems really dark, but after a few minutes you can see better than you did initially. This is because your night vision has set in. When running in the dark, give yourself a few minutes before starting to allow your eyes to adjust.

One your eyes have adjusted, you need to use them correctly to maximize your night vision. In daylight, we are accustomed to looking directly at something for the clearest focus. In the dark, however, this is the worst thing to do. The part of the retina that is used when you look directly at something is optimized for daylight vision, but is in effect a blind spot for night vision. The areas just around your center of focus are the most sensitive to light and contrast and offer the best night vision. The technique to use to optimize your night vision is to look at the horizon and keep scanning your eyes from side to side so you don’t focus on one specific spot. While doing that, pay attention to what you can see just below your center of focus. In this way, you will be able to better see the path in front of you than if you look at it directly.

You may see them, but they can’t see you

Runners are very difficult for drivers to see. Your eyes have adjusted to the dark, but a driver’s eyes have not. A driver is looking into the area in front of them that is illuminated by their headlights. This light prevents drivers from developing night vision, so everything on the side of the road — including you — is extra dark and difficult to see. Your best bet for safety is to wear something reflective. Here are a few options.

Reflective Vest

A reflective running vest is the most versatile, because you can wear it in warm and cold weather. Just make sure you size it so that it fits over your cold weather running gear.

Reflective accessories

If a vest isn’t quite your style, then consider using reflective accessories to make yourself more visible to drivers.

Reflective jacket

Of course, if you’re running in the cold, a reflective jacket is the way to go. Check out these options.

So don’t let the dark keep you indoors! Stay safe, and welcome to the dark side!

Do you remember your New Year’s Resolutions?

Were any of them related to running, health, or fitness?

How are you doing with them?

Most people forgot their resolutions by February or March. But a few, the intrepid and persistent ones, hung on at least into the summer. And that’s when the one-two punch knocked the rest of us out.

First, the ‘lazy days’ of summer filled with vacation road trips and backyard barbeques both gave us excuses to stray from otherwise healthy diets and to cut back on exercise (“I’ll be active at the beach, and we’re packing so much already, so I’ll leave my running clothes behind and catch up when we get back…”).

Then, before we could recover from the “summer effect,” school started. And with the start of the school year came all the extracurricular activities – fall soccer, small-fry football, music lessons, scouts, Sunday school, etc.

And that’s where life gets the best of us. We’re no longer thinking about our New Year’s resolutions from nine months ago. We’re no longer thinking about doing what’s good for us. At this point in the year, we just want to make it through the day without going insane. So we skip a run here, grab a fast food lunch there, and little by little end up backsliding into inactivity. Before we know it the holidays are here, we’ve gained 10 pounds at holiday parties, and we approach the New Year with ambitious idealism and renewed vigor to really keep our resolutions “this time.”

But you know what, it’s not too late! There are still three months left in the year. Now is the time to climb back on the horse and recommit yourself to your running and fitness goals. Then, when New Year’s Day rolls around, you won’t have to resolve to get back on track with your health again, because you’ll already be back on track.

Also, if you make the effort to find a routine that works for you now – when life is at its busiest and most hectic – then you’ll know that you have a running and fitness schedule that will work anytime. Not an ambitious and idealistic New Year’s Day resolution schedule that you are constantly compromising, but a realistic day-to-day schedule that you can stick with all year.

And remember, your family wants you to be healthy too. So for your sake and theirs, resolve to get back on track now!

What are you waiting for?

An old friend of mine from high school who has a successful psychiatry practice in upstate New York recently published a blog post on addiction that got me thinking… What is the tipping point at which something is no longer a hobby, an interest, or even a way of life – but becomes an addiction?

Can one be addicted to running?

Dr. Ferraioli points out in his post that addictions “…DISCONNECT us from ourselves and from our real lives; and that includes the people in our lives such as our children, our spouses, our friends, and our communities, among others.”

Many of us use running to escape. For me, it’s a brief period in the day where I can clear my head and find respite from everything else that’s going on. And I think that’s a very healthy thing. Everyone needs time to “recenter” and many of us find that time running.

But can you take it too far?

As with anything else in life, the key to success is balance. Ask yourself, does your running strengthen your family relationships or strain them? Is your family included in your running goals, or does your running make your family feel excluded? Does running bring you closer to the ones you love, or does it disconnect you?

If you find yourself on the wrong side of the balance, now is the time to take action. Talk to your family. Include them. Listen to them. Value them. And then take another look at your training plan and make sure that it gives you the balance you need. Unless you’re a professional athlete, it’s OK to cut back on your training. It’s OK to not hit a PR every time. It’s OK to give yourself a break for the sake of your family.

My family has had a very busy summer this year. I’ve been lucky to log two runs a week lately, and I’m happy with that.

I hope to run well into my old age, but I know that the day will come when I will no longer be able to run. My joints will be too old and my muscles too weak. I expect that when that day comes I will not regret a single missed run, failed training plan, unshed pound, or cancelled race. Instead, I will cherish the extra time I got to spend with my family, and hope that we grew to be a stronger family because of it.

photo by mikehamm

Hi.

It’s us, your running shoes.

We’ve got a few things to tell you.

We’re tired of being blamed for all your running problems.

Shin splints? “Shoes must be getting old.” Knee problems? “I must have the wrong type of shoes.” Slow race time? “My shoes felt too heavy.”

Don’t get us wrong. We love running with you. We would never quit on you. We want you and your feet to be happy. But before you give up on us and go barefoot (who will you blame for your aches and pains then?), just hear us out.

Consider breaking up with your work shoes

No, we’re not jealous. We understand that there are other shoes in your life. We have no desire to go to boring meetings or sit under a desk all day. But come on, do you think you’re really doing your feet a favor with these?

If we’re lucky you might spend two or three hours with us, but you cram your feet into your work shoes for up to 12 hours per day, five days a week! And if you really are wearing high heels for that long, you could be doing some serious damage. In fact, recent studies have shown that high heels can shorten calf length by up to 13 percent!

And men, you’re not doing yourselves any favors either. When you jam your feet into your expensive stylish narrow dress shoes with pointy toes, you will over time deform your foot by cramming your toes together. And when your toes are all crammed together, they don’t contribute so well to your running stride.

Take your shoes off when you’re at home

Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

We spend a lot of time with your feet. We listen to them much more than you do. You know what their biggest complaint is? You keep them in shoes too much.

You should take your shoes off every chance you get. It’s good for your shoes, and it’s even better for your feet. Walking around the house without shoes develops your foot and calf muscles while helping your feet breathe.

Here’s something you should try. When you walk around the house, can you hear the china rattle? Do the people on the floor below you hear THUD THUD THUD with every step you take? You probably don’t even notice it. Pay attention to how hard your feet hit the floor when you walk without shoes — and then try to walk silently. You don’t need to walk on tiptoes to walk silently. Just put your feet down more gently and make sure your heel doesn’t strike first. In fact, this is the way humans were meant to walk. Landing on the ball of your foot instead of your heel improves your balance and your form. You can do this at home every time you take a step, and your feet, shins, and knees will thank you.

Running shoes can’t save you from bad form

You’ve heard the conventional wisdom. Do you overpronate? Get a motion control shoe. Do you underpronate? Get a cushioned shoe. Do you have knee problems? Get fitted for orthotics. In fact, it seems there’s a shoe or an insert for every possible gait problem.

But is it really the shoes? Recent studies using control groups have actually “…found almost no correlation at all between wearing the proper running shoes and avoiding injury.” In fact, runners who used the “correct” type of shoe in the studies actually had a higher incidence of injuries than runner who didn’t.

So how do you make sense of this data? Here’s our take on it. When you use your running shoes to compensate for bad form, you actually train your feet and legs to run worse. If you buy cushioned shoes because you’re a heel striker, the shoes make it OK to heel strike and over time your heel strikes harder and harder. If you buy motion control shoes because you pronate, the shoes do all the work for you so the muscles that would normally keep your feet from pronating get even weaker and your over pronation gets even worse.

So what can you do?

Don’t fix your shoes, fix your form

Yes, you can probably fix your form by running barefoot — but we don’t think you need to. We think you can improve your form and reduce injuries and problems by simply following these two pieces of advice:

• Go natural — By this we mean get off the pavement. Run on grass. Run up hills. Run on trails. Run anywhere that the surface isn’t flat. Uneven terrain will force you to run with a more responsive gait. In time, this will develop all those muscles that have atrophied from years and years of motion control and flat pavement. It will be hard at first, and you should start slow. But in time you’ll notice the difference. Besides, isn’t pavement getting boring for you? We would sure like a change of scenery!

• Shorten your stride — We think that you are heel striking, and suffering from shin splints, knee problems, and other maladies because your stride is too long. When your feet land in front of you, you are overextending your joints and muscles. Also, when your feet land in front of you, the only way they can land is on the heel. The heel is not made for gently absorbing shock — it transfers the shock right up your legs and through your body.If you shorten your stride so that your feet land underneath you, you’ll find that you will dramatically reduce the impact on your heels. You’ll move more quickly onto the balls of your feet, and you’ll have a better push off to start the next stride. To help yourself achieve this form, lean forward slightly as you run. Of course, shorter strides mean less distance covered, so you’ll need to increase your turnover. Over time it will start to feel more natural, and the reduced impact will translate into less training time lost to injury.

So can we be friends again? Take care of your feet when you’re not running, and they’ll take care you when you are. Pay attention to improving your form by shortening your stride, and you’ll reduce the impact of each step on your body. And finally, take it slow. Add distance gradually when you train and listen to your body.

Let’s go for a run!

Marathon training for busy families

Finding time to train for a full marathon when you have a family is hard.

Finding time to train for a marathon even when you don’t have a family is hard, but with a family it’s significantly harder. When can you fit in those critical long runs? How many miles a week do you really need? What if you end up missing a workout? What if you end up missing a long run?

Don’t worry. You can do it!

I developed this marathon training plan especially for busy families. In fact, I use this plan myself. To keep it manageable, I built the plan around only three runs a week — two regular runs, and one long run each week. It has plenty of room for flexibility, and it will get you ready for a marathon in 16 weeks.

Run a marathon in 16 weeks

This plan is not for beginners! It’s OK if you are a first-time marathoner, but you should not use this plan if you are a beginning runner. You need to establish a solid base before trying to run a marathon.

To use this plan, you should be able to run a 10K and your regular runs should be around 4 to 5 miles each. You should be healthy and injury free. If this is your first marathon, or if you have had training injuries in the past, you should consult your physician before starting. If you are not yet up to 10K and regular 4–5 mile runs, then check out my Half Marathon Training Plan

Build stamina through distance runs

The plan starts out with 5 mile runs, and gradually adds distance to get you ready for the full 26.2 miles for your marathon.

To help fit training into busy family life, the weekday runs are kept relatively short. There are two runs per week on weekdays, at distances of either 5 or 6 miles. The plan shows the weekday runs on Tuesday and Thursday, but you can run them whenever they fit in. Make sure you get two of these runs in each week! Cumulative distance is really important for marathon training — more on that in a bit.

Long runs are reserved for weekends (but again, you can run them during the week if that fits better with your family schedule). The plan lists long runs on Sundays because most marathons fall on a Sunday, but other days are fine too. You should run your long run whenever it fits best into your family schedule — but make sure you run one long run each week! The long runs start at 8 miles and gradually work up to 21 miles. Distance is added on alternating weeks — if you bump up your distance one week, then you cut back a little the next week to allow your body to recover. Sort of like an inchworm — it stretches out to gain ground, then lets the rest of its body catch up. This concept is very important in helping to avoid training injuries. The amount of distance run each week is also carefully calculated to help avoid training injuries. The plan doesn’t increase weekly mileage by more than 10% over the previous stretch week, with just one minor exception.

Fueling and tapering

photo by nkzs

Marathon training puts a toll on your body. Be good to yourself and make sure you stay well nourished. I’ve found a 40–30-30 diet to work best. That means that you consume 40% of your calories in the form of complex carbohydrates (e.g. whole grain bread and pasta, fruit), 30% of your carbs in the form of proteins (e.g. meats, cheeses, and beans), and 30% of your carbs from fat. The high carb content is important to give you the energy you need. The protein is important to help your body strengthen and rebuild after each workout. The fat gives you vital energy, but should be consumed in the form of healthy fats (not saturated fat).

You also need to find a way to fuel your body during your long runs. The most readily accessible source of energy for your muscles is found in the form of glycogen — which is actually stored in your muscles. Most people run out of glycogen at around 50 minutes of sustained activity. At this point, your body will start burning fat for energy. But this process is much less efficient and will cause your performance to suffer. This is why marathoners use performance gels and/or sports drinks. If you take in easily converted carbs (like those found in gels and sports drinks), those carbs will start to be available to your body roughly 45 to 50 minutes later — right when you start running out of glycogen. I prefer sports gels, so I consume one pack before starting on my long run. I then carry enough packs with me to consume another every 45 minutes. In this way, I provide my body with a constant stream of easily converted carbs throughout my long run.

Of course, you also need water. Some people carry water with them. There are a wide variety of hydration packs available. Pick one that you are most comfortable with and use it. Rather than carrying a pack with shoulder straps, I personally prefer a waist pack. My favorite (tried and tested over many years) is the CamelBak FlashFlo waist pack. I find it to be more comfortable and less bouncy than shoulder packs. If, however, you prefer to not carry any extra weight at all, then you should probably plan your route to run past drinking fountains, or cache some water along the route beforehand. Disclosure: The links above are affiliate links.

The last three weeks of the plan are designed to help you taper so that your body is in prime condition for your marathon. During your taper, you should resist the urge to run extra miles. After all the distance you’ve been putting on, you will feel like you should be doing more. Don’t! Just take it easy. Let your body repair and rebuild itself so that you’re ready to go when the big day comes.

A critical part of your taper is carb-loading. The purpose of carb-loading is to temporarily increase the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles. There are many techniques for doing this, some more extreme than others. I tend to use a moderate technique which has you switch your diet to 70–15-15 (70% carbs, 15% protien, 15% fat) for four full days prior to your event. This increase in carbs, coupled with a decrease in your mileage, will cause your available glycogen to increase significantly for your race.

Tracking your progress

Because this plan is scaled back to only three runs per week, it is important that you stick with it! Make sure you don’t skip any runs, especially the long runs. The plan includes several charts to help you track your progress.

The first chart plots your actual daily mileage run against the planned mileage. As you can see in the sample chart above, your actual distance run (shown by the solid light blue line) will probably vary from the plan. Each run is represented by a dot on the line. If you miss a run or need to reschedule a run, try to stay as close as you can to the scheduled line.

The next chart helps you track your pace throughout your training. You’ll find that your pace will be slower on your long runs (indicated by higher points on the chart) and faster on your shorter runs (indicated by lower points). It’s OK for your long runs to be slow. In fact, you want your long runs to be slow. If you push it too hard, you may end up cutting back on mileage, which would be counterproductive. Better to take it slow and easy so that you can make sure you complete the distance. Once you’ve covered a certain distance, when you go back to it during your easier weeks you can try to push a little harder if you feel like it — but don’t overdo it.

The pace chart is a good indicator of possible overtraining. While your long run pace will be slow and will vary greatly, your short run pace should stay relatively consistent as you progress through your training. If you find your short run pace improving over time (i.e. the points are lower on the chart), great! If, however, you find your short run pace getting slower (points moving higher), then you may be at risk of over-training. Make sure you get some rest, make sure you are eating well, and try running your long runs slower. If this doesn’t help, then you should consider taking a break to let your body recover.

The final chart shows your cumulative distance run plotted against the scheduled cumulative distance. As you track your progress, the cumulative distance chart will “fill up” to show your progress. If you find your actual cumulative distance to exceed the schedule, then pull back. You don’t want to risk injury from overtraining. If, on the other hand, you find a gap growing between your actual cumulative distance and the scheduled distance, then try to make up some miles so you don’t fall behind.

Because this plan is scaled back to allow you to spend time with your family, it’s important that you keep your cumulative distance on track. Make sure you keep “filling the tank” on this chart. Cutting yourself short on total miles over the duration of your training may lead to injury. Don’t cheat yourself.

If you do fall back and the gap on this chart becomes significant, don’t overextend yourself trying to catch up. A little catching up is OK. A lot of catching up is not. Trying too hard to catch up on distance is a great way to get yourself injured. It’s better to repeat a week, extend your plan, and pick another race, than to sideline yourself through injury and not be able to run at all.

If you do happen to have time to squeeze in some extra workouts, try cross-training! Swim some laps, use an ellipse or other cardio machine, do an upper body workout, or go for a bike ride. If you choose to run any extra days, keep those runs as easy as possible — nice easy pace and no longer than 5 miles.

The Plan

The plan is available as an Excel file. The cells in the file are protected so you don’t accidentally delete or edit something you shouldn’t. In the top right corner of the spreadsheet you’ll see a spot for the Race Date. The first thing you should do is enter the date of your race here. This will automatically adjust the dates throughout the plan based on your race date.

As you progress with your training, enter the actual distance and pace of your training runs in the appropriate cells. Distance should be measured in miles. Pace should be measured as minutes per mile, with seconds expressed as a decimal rather than actual seconds. For example, a 9 minute 30 second pace would be entered as 9.5. An easy way to convert seconds to decimals is to just divide by 6. The charts (scroll down below the plan to see the charts) will automatically update as you enter your actuals so that you can easily track your progress.

Good luck with your marathon training!

Download the Plan » Download the 16 Week Marathon Training Plan in XLSX format.

The 16 Week Marathon Training Plan by Running in the Family is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

From A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

Over the last two weekends, my kids ran two different fun runs. (That’s my youngest in the photo)

One was sponsored and coordinated by the local hospital, with the goal of promoting health and fitness. The other was sponsored and promoted by a school, with the goal of raising funds for the financial aid fund.

One had post-race entertainment consisting of healthy homemade foods, a variety of physical activities, and a live band playing kids’ music. The other had a free can of soda pop for each kid that ran.

Pop Can Fun Run

The Pop Can Fun Run drew hundreds of local kids between the ages of 2 and 10 to have fun and promote health and fitness. The race was run in heats by age (2 year old race, 3 year old race, etc.). The 2 through 4 year olds ran down the block about 0.1 miles. The 5 through 10 year olds ran down the block and back, about 0.2 miles. Boys and girls ran in separate heats, and it was especially great to see so many girls at the race! (The photo above is the start of the 5 year old girls race)

Yet, with all its potential, the Pop Can Fun Run left a bad taste in my mouth. Despite the event being sponsored and run by the local hospital, right next to the hospital, to supposedly promote health and fitness, each participant (including the 2 year olds) could claim their own can of soda pop after they ran.

Pop Can Fun Run finisher’s tent

Something just doesn’t sit right with me when a hospital hands out free sodas to kids. Yes, they did need to run for it. But is that what we’ve come to? We need to bribe our kids with soda to get them to come out to a race?

“I’d do anything for a soda — I’d even run!”

I should expect higher standards from a hospital, and yet somehow I’m not surprised. What a great event for educating the public! Yet there were no nutrition pamphlets or advice to be seen, no nurses talking to families about how to keep their kids healthy, and no displays or activities promoting fitness. Wasting such a golden opportunity for public health education would have been bad enough, but handing out free soda to kids took the cake.

For more on why I think handing out sodas to kids is such a bad idea, check out my previous post on the scary truth about sugar for runners.

CVMS 5K and 1 Mile Family Fun Run

Although not as well attended as the Pop Can Fun Run, the CVMS 5K and 1 Mile Family Fun Run (which drew less than 200 participants across both events) was outstanding! Sponsored by the Chemung Valley Montessori School, the purpose of this event was “to help our students, families, and communities focus on the benefits and fun of fitness while fundraising and supporting those in need.”

Both the 5K and 1 Mile events were kid-friendly — and in many cases entire families ran together. The entire 1 mile course, and the majority of the 5K course, went out and back on a rail trail (pictured below). Some kids ran the whole way. Some ran and walked. Some stopped to pick flowers or look for birds in the marshland adjacent to the trail.

CVMS 1 Mile Family Fun Run

After the race, kids and families were welcomed onto the school playground to enjoy homemade food including (but not limited to) a variety of fresh fruits, hummus, pasta salad, and granola bars. An inflatable was set up next to the kids’ band so the children could bounce away what energy they had left after running while the band played kid-friendly music like “Cheese Man”.

All in all it was a fabulous family event — just what a family fun run should be.

So what do you think? Am I being too hard on the hospital? Chime in with your comments below!

Do you ever wonder why kids grow up wanting to be Michael Jordan, but not Ryan Hall? Or if distance running will ever be able to match the popularity and advertising budgets of MLB?

The article then goes on to speculate how showcasing events online through new media or making races more spectator-friendly can lead to an upsurge in popularity for running.

Interesting ideas, but they’re based on the flawed assumptions that more popular equals better and that professional athletes who can be idolized by the masses are a necessary ingredient for attracting the masses.

This connection to athletes and spectators is vital in creating a growing and loyal fan base. … “There is an obvious connection between the masses and the professional athletes, some of whom began as mid-packers.”

Bigger isn’t better

For all the millions and millions of baseball fans out there, how many of them actually play? Maybe they played in little league or scraped up stickball games when they were kids, but I would speculate that the vast majority of adult baseball fans are spectators — and that spectating does nothing to advance the sport. Sure, it brings in billions of dollars of revenue and gives people something to talk about at work the next day. But it also creates problems like the Barry Bonds steroids scandal.

Is this what we want for running? As it is, running is already plagued with its share of blood doping and other scandals. Fortunately, if you Google “running scandal” you find lots of scandals, but nothing related to running until you get to the bottom of the page. Try the same thing for “baseball scandal” and you get pages and pages of examples of exactly what we don’t want to happen to running.

Don’t spectate, participate!

The other downside to the media glitz and high profile image of professional sports, like baseball, is that it actually reduces family participation. Kids no longer want to play ball with Dad. Dad isn’t good enough anymore. They’ll sit on the couch or in a stadium and watch a ballgame with Dad while he drinks a [few] beer[s]. But instead of playing ball as a family in the backyard, Mom and Dad shuttle their kids off to endless T-Ball and Little League games in hopes that they can be good enough to make Varsity in high school, and then play ball in college. And while Junior has dreams of getting drafted and growing up to be just like Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa, Mom and Dad continue to watch from the sidelines.

I think the beauty of running is that it isn’t spectator-friendly. The only way to enjoy running is to participate! And through participation, we turn an individual endeavor of striving to achieve milestones of new distance records and PR’s into a community event where it’s more about supporting each other than competing against each other.

I don’t expect my kids to grow up being active and fit because they want to be just like Usain Bolt. But I do hope that in time they will emulate my commitment to running and physical fitness because I can set an example for them that may show them how to live happier and healthier lives.

And it is in this way that Running gives each of us the opportunity to be better role models for our kids and our families than Barry Bonds could ever be.

Half marathon training for busy families

Finding time to work out and run consistently when you have a family is challenging. Finding time to train for a distance event like a half marathon is even harder!

But you can do it! This half marathon training plan only requires three runs a week — two regular runs, and one long run each week — and will get you ready for a half marathon in 16 weeks.

5K to Half Marathon in 16 Weeks

To use this plan, you should be able to run a 5K and should be healthy and injury free. The plan starts out with 3 mile runs, and gradually adds distance to get you up to 13.1 miles for your half marathon.

To keep this workable for working families, the weekday runs are kept relatively short. There are two runs per week on weekdays, starting at 3 miles and working up to a 4 mile and a 5 mile run during the weekdays during peak training time. The plan shows the weekday runs on Tuesday and Thursday, but you can run them whenever they fit in during the week.

Long runs are reserved for weekends. The plan lists long runs on Sunday because most half marathons fall on a Sunday, but Saturdays are fine too. You should run your long run whenever it fits best into your family schedule — but make sure you run one long run each week! The long runs start at 3 miles and gradually work up to 12 miles. Distance is carefully added throughout the plan so that you don’t increase weekly mileage by more than 10% each week, with just a couple of minor exceptions.

Because this plan is scaled back to only three runs per week, it is important that you stick with it! Make sure you don’t skip any runs, especially the long runs. Trying to catch up on distance is a great way to get yourself injured. It’s better to repeat a week, extend your plan, and pick another race, than to sideline yourself through injury and not be able to run at all.

If you do happen to have time to squeeze in some extra workouts, try cross-training! Swim some laps, use an ellipse or other cardio machine, do an upper body workout, or go for a bike ride.

The Plan

Download PDF » Download the 16 Week Half Marathon Training Plan in PDF format.

Download XLSX » Download the Interactive 16 Week Half Marathon Training Plan in Excel format. Enter your race date and the plan will automatically update.

The 16 Week Half Marathon Training Plan by Running in the Family is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Running in the Family would like to wish all Moms, whether running mothers or mothers of runners, a very happy, wonderful, and joyous Mother’s Day!

All the wonderful moms out there go the extra mile every day to keep our families running. But with all the running around moms do to keep their families running, there’s not much time left to get the right info to keep yourself running. So with you in mind, here’s a selection of running resources for moms to help you get more out of your running. I personally follow each of these and hope that you’ll find them as useful and enjoyable as I do.

Healthy Mom Blogs

You may or may not live in a community where there is a group of active moms who support each other. Even if you don’t, you can tap in to a virtual community of fit moms. Check out some of these mom-friendly fitness blogs.

• Training for Fun — Training for fun, by Luann Abrams, shows you how to stay fit with your kids, instead of in spite of them. The site is packed with great ideas for turning workout time into playtime with your kids, and at the same time helping them to grow up healthy and share in your fitness values.
• Bookieboo — Bookieboo is a place where moms into fitness, weight loss, and healthy living get together to share. Among other things, it features the Bookeiboo blog with health and fitness tips, tons of resources, and Mamavation — a group of moms helping each other to reach their fitness goals together. Created by Leah Segedie, Bookieboo includes a bunch of contributing moms and a very active community. (free registration required to access most site features)
• Workout Mommy — Workout Mommy, written by Lisa who was a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, features other fit moms and shares the joys of challenges of staying fit with little kids. Workout Mommy is also a community moderator on Bookieboo.
• The Well Mom — This blog, written by Heather Cabot features a wealth of articles helping moms to stay well-nourished, well-centered, well-toned, well-pampered, and well-connected.
• Active Kids Club — Active Kids Club started as an outdoor playgroup in Toronto, and has turned into a fantastic website with tons of articles, resources, and information for how to stay active with your kids, and how to form outdoor playgroups of your own!

Recommended Family Blogs

While not specifically fitness-related, these are blogs that all moms can relate to. Some are insightful, some are funny, and hopefully you will enjoy them all.

• Zen Family Habits — This minimalist blog shows you how to enjoy your family life more by simplifying and focusing on the things that really matter to you.
• The Bad Parent — The Bad Parent is a column hosted on Babble.com which features “taboo-breaking confessions” from parents who either didn’t quite do things by the book, or who perhaps even completely ignored the book and forged their own path. Definitely worth a read!
• Rocks in my Dryer — Hilarious takes on family life that we all can relate to. For a good sampling of what you’ll find there, check out the posts on the Best Of page.

Running Resources

Here’s a list of my favorite running resources. Although these aren’t “just for moms,” I think a list of resources for moms would be incomplete without these.

• RunAddicts — Fabulous professional blog for runners with great tips and articles.
• John “The Penguin” Bingham — I miss reading “The Penguin’s” column in Runner’s World, but you can still follow him online! A definite “must read” for all non-elite runners (like me).
• Runner’s World — The ubiquitous runner’s magazine online.
• Road Runner Sports — The World’s Largest Running Store. This is where I buy all of my running shoes and running gear! (affiliate link)

If you know of any great running resources for moms that you would like to share, please let us know about them in the comments section!

I hope you find these resources to be useful, informative, and enjoyable. But most of all, I hope that you find the opportunity this Mother’s Day to do something that makes you feel special. Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s about the impact of sugar on blood-fat profiles (known as ‘lipid profiles’) and cardiovascular risks, and it’s scary!

Now everyone knows that too much sugar is bad for you. But runners typically get to benefit from the equation
Calories In <= Calories Out
In other words, if you consume extra calories, you can just run them off!

Had an extra portion at a business dinner? Run it off the next day! Co-worker brought snacks in to a meeting? Run them off! Need a Coke and a candy bar in the middle of the afternoon for a pick-me-up? Hold that thought!!!

Here’s what the study in the article found:

The strongest relationship between added sugar and blood fats was found in values for HDL-C, which fell from 58.7 mg/dl for those who ate the least added sugar to 47.7 mg/dl for those who ate the most. A higher HDL-C level is associated with a lower cardiovascular risk.

Among some blood fats linked to higher cardiovascular risk, the converse was true: Triglyceride levels went from 105 mg/dl in the group that ate the least sugar to 114 mg/dl in the group that ate the most. The so-called bad cholesterol, LDL-C, went from 116 mg/dl for women who ate the least sugar to 123 mg/dl for women who ate the most. There were no significant trends for LDL-C among men.

Ouch! That’s a double-whammy!! Sugar makes your good cholesterol go down and your triglycerides and bad cholesterol go up!

And the problem, even for runners, is that sugar is processed so quickly, chances are you’re not running it off before it starts affecting you.

But wait, there’s more!

Data from the mid-1990s show that 15.8 percent of the typical American’s diet was composed of added sugar — 21.4 teaspoons or 359 calories per day. That’s up from 10.6 percent in 1977–1978.

And in the study cited in the article, the study participants that were in the highest-consuming added sugar group ate about 46 teaspoons of added sugar per day! Try to visualize that. If you need help, take a look at this article which shows what a mere 18 teaspoons looks like, and also tells you how much sugar is found in common drinks (one can of Coke has about 10 teaspoons!).

Added sugar is everywhere you look. Yes, you can avoid sodas and chocolate bars and candy. But how about ketchup, spaghetti sauce on your pre-race pasta dinner, and the runner favorite Gatorade? All of these have added sugar in the form of “caloric sweeteners,” the most common of which is corn syrup. And even if you can control your sugar intake, do you know how much sugar your children are eating every day?

So what’s a runner and a concerned parent to do?

“What it really means is we have to go back to things like whole grains and vegetables and fruit and eat things in moderation in order to be healthy,” [study co-author Dr. Miriam B.] Vos said. “Plus, a good healthy dose of activity.”

What that means is just because you can run a marathon (or a half, or a 10K…) doesn’t mean you can balance excess with excess. Excess non-nutritional caloric intake balanced by excess distance does not a healthy runner make! If you achieve balance by putting too much on both sides, your balance may break.

Do you know what your kids are doing this summer?

This is the time of year when parents across the country are scrambling to schedule their kids’ summers. When does school end? When does school start up again? What week(s) are we going to all go on vacation together? What long weekends will we take? And most importantly — What summer camps will we sign up for this year?

The summer camp options seem almost limitless, with, of course, more and more options opening up as your kids get older. Well, here’s an option you may not have considered.

Try a youth running summer camp

These camps are a great way for your kids to have a lot of fun in a safe environment while improving their running and learning about fitness with peers that share the same values. And, believe it or not, there are kids running summer camps all across the country! Most are open to kids in Middle School through High School, but age requirements vary from camp to camp. If you search locally on Google chances are you can find one near you. Here’s a selection of running camps from across the country that are worth checking out!

Kids Summer Running Camp List

• Nike Running Camps — locations nationwide, ages 14 to 18 This is the 800 lb. gorilla of youth running camps with programs all across the country. Check out their website to find a Nike Running Camp near you. These camps are all professionally staffed and held on college campuses. Definitely worth a look!
• Warr10r Camp — Locations in Florida and Georgia, ages 12 to 18 This camp has kids run on trails in the Florida and Georgia countryside. If I still lived in Georgia, I’d send my kids here!
• Runners Workshop XC Camp — Lake Tahoe, Malibu, and Idyllwild, CA, ages 12 to 18 California has some of the prettiest running country and best weather around!
• Stars and Stripe Track Camp — Oregon, ages 6 to 18 Kids as young as six can attend this daycamp to learn and practice a variety of track and field events.
• Steens Mountain High Altitude Running Camp — Oregon, ages 13 to 19 When they say “High Altitude” they’re not kidding! Base camp is at 7500 feet, and with daily runs through the mountains, this camp is not for the fainthearted.
• Elevate Running Camp — Arizona, high school ages Another mountain running camp, Elevate puts a focus on on learning with instructional sessions everyday in addition to regular runs and typical camp fun.
• Camp Isaiah — Colorado, middle school to high school ages This Christian camp allows kids to enjoy running and other activities while exploring their spirituality in the Rockies.
• Carrie Tollefson Training Camp — Minnesota, middle school to high school ages Started by running star Carrie Tollefson and held in her hometown in Minnesota, this high performance camp is exclusively for girls.
• Wilderness Running Camp — Missouri, teens Located in the beautiful Ozarks, this camp is a true outdoor adventure that combines trail running with fun outdoor events like float trips.
• First XC Running Camp — South Carolina, teens Held on the grounds of Furman University, this camp is for runners of all ability levels.
• Cavalier Distance Running Camp — North Carolina, teens Located near Asheville, NC, this Christian running camp is packed with outdoor activities such as a ropes course and hiking through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.
• X-Treme Running Camp — New Jersey, middle school and high school ages This high performance camp located near the Delaware Water Gap is geared towards helping competitive runners jump to the head of the pack.
• Aim High Running Camp — New York, middle school and high school ages This camp, set in upstate New York’s Adirondack Mountains, is packed with activities!
• Portsmouth-Newport Running Camp — Rhode Island, high school ages Open to runners of all ability levels, this camp is set on the scenic campus of Portsmouth Abbey School near historic Newport, RI.

So what are you waiting for? Find a camp near you and sign up before they fill up!

And if you know of a great kids running camp that I missed, please let us know about it in the comments!

No running in Mrs. Obama’s plan?

I, along with the rest of the fitness community I’m sure, applaud our First Lady’s commitment to fighting youth obesity. This is an epidemic in our country which has long been ignored and it’s wonderful to see it getting some serious attention. But is it missing something? Donald Buraglio and Mike Dove of montereyrunninglife.com point out in The Herald Monterey County that she has neglected to include running:

Maybe we’re paranoid, but we’ll put this one out there … we’re a bit offended that the Surgeon General’s “Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation 2010″ says children should have 60 minutes a day of vigorous exercise but doesn’t mention running. Included in the activity examples are softball, racquetball, kayaking (Really? In inner cities?), skating, mall walking, and washing the car, but somehow running didn’t make the list.

I couldn’t agree more!

See, here’s the thing: running is the simplest, cheapest, most accessible and most effective means of exercise there is. Although we risk offending the kayaking or shuffleboard lobbies by saying so, we feel our sport deserves a much higher profile in fitness programs.

It’s almost hard to imaging kids at play outdoors without running. Running has always been a core activity of children’s playtime, and as such should be a vital part of any children’s fitness initiative. Thank you Donald and Mike for pointing out this flaw in the program!

So what should we do about it? I think we should let the First Lady know how we feel. Unfortunately the blog on letsmove.gov does not have a comments section, but they also have a Facebook page. So go ahead and post a comment on their wall! Let’s not let running get overlooked.

Cops and Kids

Is it possible for a parent to ever be excited about having their own children chased by cops? It is if it’s during the Spring Training Classic 10K Cops-n-Kids Fun Run in Jupiter, Florida!

The run takes place on March 5th, 2010 and finishes at home plate in Roger Dean Stadium with the kids being led by a police motorcycle and accompanied (chased?) by officers. Additionally, there will be a Mobile Command Vehicle, a SWAT team, and K9 officers available for instructional tours.

What a great way to promote family fitness and public safety, while introducing our neighborhood heroes — police — to kids in a friendly environment. Kudos to the towns of Abacoa and Jupiter for this fabulous event! I hope it serves as an inspiration to towns and communities across the country.

Along with planning beautiful themed resorts and wonderfully manicured landscaping, the Disney Imagineers have also included a network of walking/jogging trails around the resorts that you can run on. My favorite area is the Epcot Resorts area, home to the Disney Beach Club, Disney Yacht Club, Disney Boardwalk, Disney Swan, and Disney Dolphin resorts. These resorts are beautifully set around a lake, tucked away behind Epcot’s World Showcase, with canals that connect both to Epcot and to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Lots of people are out running every morning, so you’ll have plenty of company (or competition) to keep you motivated. I ran in the afternoon while the kids played at the Beach Club pool. There were less runners out then, and more casual strollers to look out for and avoid — especially on the boardwalk.

There are three sections of running trails in this area. One runs along the canal to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and then back on the other side (after crossing on an overpass) to the Swan and Dolphin resorts. (photo 1) If you’re lucky, you’ll get to race one of the Friendship boats down the canal (I won).

The largest section is a running/walking path along Epcot Resorts Boulevard, which circles around all of the resorts. (photo 2) You have to watch out for one tricky part where the path stops as the road goes under the canal, but the length of this path makes it easier to get some distance in.

Of course the most popular is running around the lake. (photos 3 & 4) This stretch includes a section on the Disney Boardwalk, and you can find runners here at almost any time of the day.

If you want to plan your course before you run you can do so on MapMyRun. Or you can use RunKeeper to track your time, pace, and distance on the fly.

So along with your Mickey Mouse ears, don’t forget to pack your running shoes, and have a magical run!

Losing focus on your running goals?

How are you doing with your running and fitness goals? How is the rest of your family doing?

As the Holidays pass and we become re-absorbed into the activities of our daily lives, it gets easier and easier to find excuses — especially at this time of year. It’s too cold to run outside … It’s too dark to run in the morning … It’s too dark to run in the evening … I’m getting tired of the treadmill and wish I could just run outside … I’ll just skip today … I’ll get back on track tomorrow …

Publish your running goals and keep track

One of the best ways to make sure you don’t slack off is to publish your running and fitness goals and track your progress. It doesn’t have to be complicated. One technique is to just post your goal in big letters on the fridge or the family bulletin board — DADDY WILL RUN 3 TIMES A WEEK. Then keep a log sheet handy and write down each time you complete a workout or otherwise make progress towards your goal.

You can also use some great online tools to make your goals public.

• Daytum.com is a simple and attractive site where you can post goals and track metrics for free. This is the site I’m using to aggregate and track my Run 48 States progress. Create your page in a few minutes, then post it on Facebook, Twitter, or email it to friends that you know will keep you honest.
• MapMyRun.com (affiliate link) is a comprehensive site that lets you log workouts, publish them to your Facebook and Twitter accounts automatically, and view metrics in a variety of different ways. Better yet, if you get your running friends on it as well, you can link your profiles and see what your friends have been doing to keep each other honest.
• Runkeeper.com is another online option that is a bit more streamlined than MapMyRun. It has less functionality, but is much easier to use and is better designed. You input your workouts on your iPhone (support for other devices coming in the future) through the RunKeeper app available through the App Store for free. RunKeeper then charts your progress both on your iPhone, and on their website. It integrates nicely with the GPS capabilities of the iPhone, plotting your course on a map during your run and providing statistics for distance and pace. It also integrates nicely with Facebook and Twitter, and allows you to build a network of running buddies called your “Street Team.”

There are plenty more out there. These are just the ones I’ve used. If you have a great suggestion, let us know about it by leaving a comment!

Rely on your family for support

Believe it or not, your family wants you to be successful in your running and fitness goals. Think about how you feel about them. Don’t you want your spouse to be healthy? Don’t you want to help your spouse find time to work out? Don’t you want your kids to be healthy and to realize their goals? Well your family wants that for you too.

You should have shared your fitness goals with your family when you set them. If you didn’t, share them now. OK, maybe not right now, but do it today. Make sure your family knows what you’re trying to achieve, and that they understand why.

Then ask them for help. If you are starting to find yourself struggling to keep up with your commitments to yourself, tell them what your challenges are. While you’re at it, don’t make it all about you. Ask them how they’re doing on their fitness goals. Work together as a family, as a team, to really understand what each of you wants to achieve — and then support each other and help each other be successful.

Working together and keeping your lines of communication open helps your entire family support each other. You can celebrate each other’s successes. You can help each other deal with challenges as they come up. You can use your running and fitness goals to bring your family together, and keep each other on track.

This week’s Sunday USA Weekend newspaper insert contained a brief article entitled “How to sneak fitness into your children’s lives” (online version here), highlighting a book by Larysa Didio called Sneaky Fitness: Fun, Foolproof Ways to Slip Fitness into Your Child’s Everyday Life.

For some reason, the article troubled me as I was reading it, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. After all, anything espousing fitness for kids has to be good, right?

And then I figured out what was bugging me so much.

Family fitness is not something you should “sneak” in

Family fitness is not the same as hiding the dog’s medicine in his dogfood. It’s not something that’s supposed to be good for you, yet so unpalatable that you need to sneak it in.

Somehow, deceiving our children holds a strange attraction on parents. From Santa, to the Easter Bunny, to the Tooth Fairy — tricking our kids has become part of our parental culture.

One day my kids used a kit to make little colorful martians out of gel. When they weren’t looking, the martians disappeared because “their spaceship took off!” For the next half hour, I would make the martians keep reappearing somewhere else in the house when the kids were looking the other direction so that they could be rediscovered to squeals of delight moments later. The kids had fun with it. We had fun with it. But I don’t think our kids will grow up into adults who believe that little martians really did fly around our house that day.

I also don’t think that parents expect their kids to grow up believing in Santa, or the Easter Bunny, or Leprechauns, or all the other cute little pranks we play on our innocent children. So if we expect our kids to figure out our subterfuge as they mature and grow out of it, then why would they not also “grow out of” our fitness subterfuge?

If the only way you can get your kids to stay fit is by sneaking exercise into their lives, what happens when they grow up and move out? Parents should be preparing their kids to live their lives on their own by helping them learn how to make good choices, not by pushing our choices on them through stealth.

Family fitness should be something fun! It should be something you want to do with your kids, and also something that your kids want to do with you. It’s not just about doing it because it’s good for you. It’s about enjoying activities together, and enjoying a healthier lifestyle together.

So how do you make family fitness enjoyable?

On this count, the article pretty much has it right — create fun challenges; give them the tools (although I don’t particularly see how replacing dining-table chairs with fitness balls could possibly end well); and be fit together.

I think the more open you are with your kids about fitness, the more they see you living a healthy lifestyle, and the more you include them in your activities, the more you will all enjoy fitness together.

People are catching on. People want to have fun with their families and they want to have healthy families. Families want to do fun and active things together, and more and more resources are becoming available to help families do just that. (In fact, there’s a great website in my blogroll focused entirely on how to make fitness fun with your family.)

Take a walk with your kids, play tag, go orienteering together, go on a bike ride, go swimming, set up an ad-hoc obstacle course in the backyard. Do anything, just do it together. Your kids will keep begging you for more, and you won’t have to sneak it in.

In all fairness, I haven’t actually read the book in question (and, frankly, am not adding it to my book list after this article), but I ask anyone who has to please comment below with your views. And if you have some creative ideas for including kids in fun and healthy activities, please share them in the comments!

View of Seneca Lake from Watkins Glen, NY

This week my 48 state run took me through Watkins Glen, NY. Located on the southern tip of Seneca Lake, Watkins Glen is a major tourist destination in New York’s Finger Lakes country.

First, my route went past Watkins Glen International, which features world-class racing including NASCAR, Indy, and historic & vintage car races. It’s quite the attraction during the summer, especially when NASCAR is in town — but I tend to prefer the Vintage Grand Prix. There’s nothing like watching historic race cars from as far back as the 1920’s compete against other historic cars from the same era! And between heats, the cars are all out on display for everyone’s admiration.

Just a few miles away from the racetrack is Watkins Glen State Park where you can hike (or run) a fantastic gorge.

Watkins Glen State Park (Flickr: riverap1)

The scenery here is really quite fantastic as you can tell from these pictures! The gorge is also quite steep. My route doesn’t come right down into the gorge, but instead follows the trails hugging the rim.

Watkins Glen State Park (Flickr: dlhdmb13)

There are hiking trails throughout Watkins Glen State Park which allow you to explore many of the nooks and crannies in this beautiful gorge. The entire Glen is riddled with waterfalls, ranging from the majestic, like the one in the photo above, to tiny cascading ledges which make you feel like you’re in a huge zen garden.

Watkins Glen State Park (Flickr: Peter Rivera)

Watkins Glen State Park (Flickr: dlhdmb13)

At the base of the Glen lies the town of Watkins Glen, NY and the southern tip of Seneca Lake. From here I’ll continue my way up the western side of the lake, running northwest towards Penn Yan on Keuka Lake and then Canandaigua on Canandaigua Lake.

Sailboat on Seneca Lake (Flickr: eflon)

Don’t forget to follow along on the course map. If you view the map on MapMyRun.com you’ll find a link above the map which allows you to view a course fly-by video. Check it out!