126: Respecting Your Body Type and Mechanics: Running for the Long Haul

Author Margaret Webb (of
Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All
About Living Younger, Longer) returns to talk about race
etiquette, body image, and ways to live a healthier, longer running
lifestyle. Serena Marie, RD, and Kari fill the Gratitude Jar this
week and also talk about what stress and cortisol levels do to the
body. Serena recaps the
Eileen C. Dugan Memorial 5K that she recently ran, and Kari
updates listeners on her back injury.

Featured Guest: Author Margaret Webb

Kari and Margaret Webb, from self-titled Episode
48, converse about what’s going on in Margaret’s life right
now, race etiquette, body image, the top seven ways to live a
healthy life, and much more.

• Margaret has been running in her late 20s, and because of her
  flat feet, she was always afraid of running too long or far.


• One day, her sister challenged her to run a half marathon, and
  she felt she couldn’t say no since her sister is thirteen years
  older than she.


• After her first book came out, called
  Apples To Oysters: A Food Lover’s Tour Of Canadian
  Farm, she felt she needed to lose a few pounds gained
  while researching and going on tour to promote the book.


• She thought she’d try her hand at a marathon, and she was about
  to turn fifty years old, so she wanted to try to get into the best
  shape of her life.


• She had an amazing fiftieth year, ran several marathons, and
  achieved a personal best (PB).


• 
  Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All
  About Living Younger, Longer is her memoir as an
  overweight smoker and couch potato to a fit distance runner. She
  also talked to long-distance female runners while writing the
  book.


• Her largest goal was to turn herself into a runner who could
  run for life.


• She found that when you get into distance running, there’s
  about a ten-year arc where you continue to build your speed and
  strength but you inevitably run into a slower period.


• Age doesn’t disappear, and it shouldn’t stop anyone from
  starting running at any age.


• Find the age grade running calculator that Margaret mentions
  
  here.


• Kari updates Margaret on her experience of running three
  marathons (and how it all started in “ Bank Of America Chicago
  Marathon Race Director Carey Pinkowski”
  Episode 88) and how she enjoys 5Ks and half marathons much
  more.


• Margaret talks about the ridiculousness of thinking we are not
  runners if we haven’t run the marathon distance. She thinks it’s
  useful and interesting to have trained for a marathon, because it’s
  a big goal to achieve.


• Many women can and do successfully run marathons well into
  their 70s, 80s, and 90s. But for most of us, in order to be healthy
  running those distances, we need to cross train a lot.


• Margaret wants to get into distance swimming, kayaking, and
  cycling.


• One major takeaway is to respect your body type and mechanics
  in order to run injury free.


• Last year she ran the BAA 5K
  with some of her running club friends and had an amazing time. The
  next day, she took a running tour through Boston. Although it’s
  sexy to run a big-city marathon, there are other ways to run a city
  too!


• Margaret thinks that 5 and 10K distances should get more
  respect. For the BAA 5K, you self select what corral you go in, so
  those runners who are least experienced go to the first corral to
  try and get to the finish line faster. In the first corral, there
  were elites mixed in with slower runners.


• For folks in the second or third corral, they had to pass the
  slower runners from the first corral. People were even stopping to
  walk in the first corral, which made it very difficult for the
  faster runners who had to dodge and weave around slower folks. It
  becomes frustrating and dangerous.


• Her goal was to run a personal best there, and she wanted to
  try and place in her age group, so she wanted the conditions for a
  fast race.


• For someone who’s new to a 5K race, Margaret suggests the
  following etiquette:
  
  
  
  • All races should have an etiquette guideline with the race
    kit/bag.
  
  
  • For those who are on a run/walk program, during the walking
    phase, you should make a signal before you start to walk and move
    to the side of the race course. Kari mentions that when doing the
    Galloway Method, Jeff Galloway suggests to raise your arm to say
    that you’re slowing down and to go to the side of the course.
  
  
  • Properly place yourself in a corral that matches your
    ability.
  
  
  • Kari mentions a book called
    Runners of North America: A Definitive Guide to the
    Species by Mark Remy that satirically classifies 23
    different types runners in a humorous way.
  
  
  
  


• Margaret talks a bit about body image in her second book.


• The women’s running movement is still so young and new that
  most runners have not really experimented or understood the full
  range of running opportunities that are available.


• The movement is fixated on the half marathon, but there are
  many other distances to choose from.


• One thing that women has largely ignored is the USATF Masters Track and
  Field movement, which includes shorter distances like the 100-
  and 200-meter races.


• You can get tremendously fit by doing shorter distances, and
  that suits many women in terms of training.


• What Margaret learned from the sprinters is that they built
  muscle really well, and older women struggle to keep muscle mass,
  so it’s important to do activities that enhance muscle gain.


• Sprinters have a bit of a stronger physique, and they look less
  “ravaged” as Margaret puts it. The distance runners seemed to be
  more frail because of less upper-body strength and miles taking
  their toll.


• In terms of body image, she’s spoken to quite a few women at
  women’s-only races who started out their running careers at higher
  weights. When she started with her running club, she was 40 pounds
  overweight.


• Margaret talks about social contagion, which is when you run
  with a group of positive people, you will catch that positivity.
  When you run, take some time to get into a positive mindset before
  you run.


• For runners who might be insecure about their bodies, she
  suggests joining a supportive, like-minded group to keep you
  positive and motivated.


• There is a movement called City Fit Girls that
  started in Philadelphia that’s just for women runners, and their
  mantra is, “No woman left behind.”


• Kari recently heard about Alexis who moved from Baltimore to
  Phoenix, who went on a run sponsored by a running store, and she
  was left behind on a run in the dark, having just moved to the
  area.


• It’s key to also find a good running store that takes you
  seriously and respects you.


• Margaret is hungry to get back into a regular, disciplined
  training program soon with a few goal races but more diversified
  (like the Thousand Islands
  race series).


• Kari and Margaret chat about mindset, nutrition, sleep,
  exercise, meditation, being with your tribe, and being outside.
  Kari mentions giving up alcohol and sugar, and she feels better
  without both. It affects her sleep and the way she feels.


• Going through major life changes like selling a house, moving,
  moving away from good friends, can all be stressful. She recognizes
  that getting on a stricter schedule and focusing on the six or
  seven keys will get her back on track.


• Kari gives a shout out to Canadian listener Malcolm Richmond
  who got into both Chicago and New York through the lottery system.
  His wife ran the Chicago Marathon for the first time, and Kari
  tells a funny story about Malcolm shouting out of a cab window.
  When Kari and fellow TRLS listener Liz Whitteberry were talking to
  meet Serena for dinner, who do they bump into, but Malcolm!

Thank you, TRLS listeners! “Running And Art: Turn Your Dreams
Into Plans” (Episode
124 with Ann Rea) has received a ton of feedback! Many
listeners thought it was a refreshing episode, because it portrayed
depression and anxiety in such a raw and real light. We LOVE
feedback and show ideas, so e-mail [email protected],
leave a note on the
Facebook page, or reach out via Twitter.

It’s almost here! The Delaware Marathon Festival
in Wilmington, DE, will be held on Saturday, May 7 (5K and kids
race) along with a TRLS dinner meetup (details to come). On
Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 8), the marathon, half marathon, and the
relay races will take place. Kari will be the relay race finish
line announcer. Go to the Contact tab of
the TRL site to let Kari know that you’ll be at the meetup!

Gratitude Jar (Woot! Woot!)

This week, go-to, real-food dietitian “Speedy Scientific” Serena
Marie, RD, is grateful for science. As a dietitian, she’s invested
in science, and now she’s reaping the benefits of science in terms
of the different types of training she did while she was injured
(HIIT workouts and strength training). Now she’s only running twice
a week, but she PRed at the
Eileen C. Dugan Memorial 5K. She’s grateful that by listening
to science and doing HIIT workouts, she’s been able to keep up her
endurance and speed without a ton of running the last three months.
She was the first woman to cross the finish line! Congratulations,
Serena!

Kari is grateful for Serena! She talked to Serena about
something that she was taking to heart too much that wasn’t even
her own stressor, and Serena snapped her out of it by explaining
things in her scientific, millennial way.

Serena Marie, RD
Serena Marie, RD, explains what happens physically to your body
when you’re stressed out.

• Don’t take on other’s issues. It’s important to minimize
  stressors that aren’t actually your own. When you respond to other
  people’s stress, you are doing damage to your own body.


• The hormone cortisol spikes in your body, and it sets off the
  fight or flight reaction in your body, where your body thinks
  there’s a major stress going on, even if it’s a slight emotional
  stress.


• When we exercise, it’s a healthy stress to our bodies, but when
  you’re sitting in the car during rush-hour traffic or recounting a
  stressful situation to your significant other at the dinner table,
  your liver starts to put out triglycerides (sugars) and LDL
  cholesterol, which is preparing your body for that flight reaction.
  When you’re sitting down, you’re not utilizing these sugars and
  cholesterol, but if you were running and your body reacted that
  way, it would be good because your body could use the sugars for
  fuel.


• Try to be in the present and just breathe. Visualization is
  powerful, but it’s hard to believe until you see it manifested and
  actually happen.


• Take a picture of what you visualize, and use the hashtags
  #TRLS and #visualization on social media. Mindset is everything,
  and we are our own worst enemies at times.


• Serena also chats about her BAA 5K experience, which she loved,
  because Boston is alive with the spirit of the marathon that
  weekend. Being a part of the running community was amazing, she
  thought the starting line was well organized, and she doesn’t
  recall tripping over other runners or it being too crowded.

Share with us what you’re visualizing for success! Think about a
success happening and what you’ll say or feel like. Have you used
visualization before, and how did it work out for you?

The first week of May is National Pet Week, so in next week’s
episode, Kari talks about how to run with dogs and which breeds are
great to run with. She feels honored to chat with Rachael Ray’s go-to
veterinarian, Dr. Ernie Ward. Ward is an Iron Man who talks to Kari
about Lyme disease, how to care for a bearded dragon, and much
more.

Contact:

Margaret Webb:

Website: www.margaretwebb.com
Book:
Older, Faster, Stronger: What Women Runners Can Teach Us All
About Living Younger, Longer
Twitter: @MargaretWebb
Margaret's Facebook
Page
Website: MargaretWebb.com

Serena Marie, RD:


Website: www.SerenaMarieRD.com
Facebook: /SerenaMarieRD
Twitter: @SerenaMarieRD
Instagram: SerenaMarieRD

Kari Gormley:


Facebook:
The Running Lifestyle Show
Twitter: @KariGormley
Instagram: @KariGormley