Christmas is a season for giving more than you would ever expect to get in return, receiving love from your friends and family and being surrounded by those you love.
Think about the lights...they are so pretty and when they twinkle at night for a month out of the year, it really does give the season a magical feel.
Think about the care you committed to watering your Christmas tree and the sentimental value of your Christmas ornaments.
Last year with my husband we cut up all of our old race medals and made them into tree ornaments, used the ribbons as garlands and used the extra garland to tie bows on the tree. We also hung candy canes as a sweet reminder of the season :-).
So enjoy this day if you are with your families and friends today. Be thankful for these times and don't blink as Kenny Chesney said. If you watch everyday with the same watchful eye that you would have as a child on Christmas morning, you would be amazed at what you will see.
Joy to the World.
Remember the Reason for the Season.
Be thankful for all of the people in your life and for those you will meet in 2012!
Merry Christmas!
Heidi
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Practice Enjoying Life: when it comes time to compete you're ready!
I have an athlete at the high school who is a very talented runner. Maybe he has the potential to be a better runner than he is, if he tries running hard at practice when he is asked. He thinks he's a soccer player, lacrosse player, basketball player, or whatever, but when it comes down to it, he likes running a lot because he's got more energy than he knows how to control. ADHD....positive energy without direction. Track and field athletes....ADHD children with focus and a purpose, or just people that want to see how good they really are compared to others. Anyway, back to storytime...
The conversation went like this,
"I challenge you to be good all season rather than just in championship time"
"That sounds hard"
"It is, but its only as hard as you make it"
"What do you mean?"
"Well if you practice running hard, pushing your own limits, doing your best, when you are asked to, you take the personal challenge of being the best you can be, and recover on those days that you are not asked to work as hard but still stay focused. Running at a meet won't seem that bad because you will have practiced competing in practice and you will be ready. If you take track seriously, and you enjoy the process of becoming good, you will be. When it comes down to it, if you shoot for the moon, you will land among the stars. So have fun at practice, that's what Olympians do, they love practice, or well, they know its good for them so they do it often. They also know that if they do not focus entirely on practicing they will not get the most out of themselves when it comes time for the US Championships or the Boston Marathon, whatvever. They have gotten over the fact that some days are better than others and no matter what type of day it is, it is making you stronger. When it comes to a big race, the only thing holding you back is yourself. You have to be willing to put in 1% more than your competition because if you do, you will beat them because you have the confidence to do so."
"Why?"
"I say, why not, you're a senior, you've got a chance to be really good at something and you've got a chance to be a hero and to be the best. Go for it. You have nothing to lose except time because you will be running faster than you ever have before. Olympic champions are not made overnight but they are determined to be the best they can be and to never be satisfied with second place."
"Well, I actually like practice way better than competing. If I could just practice running, and have no meets it'd be better."
"Well, practice hard when you are asked to, and then the meets will seem like a piece of cake."
"I like cake." (this is fake...but it would have been funny if they really said cake).
This conversation is a mixture of several conversations with athletes on Wednesday. The point is that if you enjoy practice at whatever intensity you best enjoy, you enjoy life. Once you get to the meet, big event, show, whatever, you will thrive, rather than just survive. If you practice living life to its fullest, you will get back more than you had ever hoped for in return.
Continue making a difference and saving the world because I need your help. There is strength in numbers. Oh and remember to smile during the holidays, especially around your family and in public, you will make someone's day, possibly your own as well.
Heidi
The conversation went like this,
"I challenge you to be good all season rather than just in championship time"
"That sounds hard"
"It is, but its only as hard as you make it"
"What do you mean?"
"Well if you practice running hard, pushing your own limits, doing your best, when you are asked to, you take the personal challenge of being the best you can be, and recover on those days that you are not asked to work as hard but still stay focused. Running at a meet won't seem that bad because you will have practiced competing in practice and you will be ready. If you take track seriously, and you enjoy the process of becoming good, you will be. When it comes down to it, if you shoot for the moon, you will land among the stars. So have fun at practice, that's what Olympians do, they love practice, or well, they know its good for them so they do it often. They also know that if they do not focus entirely on practicing they will not get the most out of themselves when it comes time for the US Championships or the Boston Marathon, whatvever. They have gotten over the fact that some days are better than others and no matter what type of day it is, it is making you stronger. When it comes to a big race, the only thing holding you back is yourself. You have to be willing to put in 1% more than your competition because if you do, you will beat them because you have the confidence to do so."
"Why?"
"I say, why not, you're a senior, you've got a chance to be really good at something and you've got a chance to be a hero and to be the best. Go for it. You have nothing to lose except time because you will be running faster than you ever have before. Olympic champions are not made overnight but they are determined to be the best they can be and to never be satisfied with second place."
"Well, I actually like practice way better than competing. If I could just practice running, and have no meets it'd be better."
"Well, practice hard when you are asked to, and then the meets will seem like a piece of cake."
"I like cake." (this is fake...but it would have been funny if they really said cake).
This conversation is a mixture of several conversations with athletes on Wednesday. The point is that if you enjoy practice at whatever intensity you best enjoy, you enjoy life. Once you get to the meet, big event, show, whatever, you will thrive, rather than just survive. If you practice living life to its fullest, you will get back more than you had ever hoped for in return.
Continue making a difference and saving the world because I need your help. There is strength in numbers. Oh and remember to smile during the holidays, especially around your family and in public, you will make someone's day, possibly your own as well.
Heidi
Monday, December 19, 2011
Joy is not in Things. It is in Us.
This Christmas I asked my two stepdaughters for gifts that we could perform together because they don't work, I don't care about embarassing myself in public, and most importantly, it would be fun. The younger one and myself practiced our dance moves to the On The Rocks version of Lady Gaga,"Bad Romance," and then after about an hour, we asked my husband to come downstairs and videotape and then her older sister was going to guest star in the video in this one solo part in the bridge. We had fun. We have great memories and it was taped so that we can share it with family and friends.
Still working on how to upload it...
On another note, I guess I was inspired prior to my microbiology final to dance because I didn't want to use the nervous energy in a negative way. My husband had said specifically, don't blog, don't play on Facebook, study for your final, you get distracted way too easily (so true). So I studied hard and I think I actually think I did relatively well, however, prior to leaving the house, I set aside some time so I could dance off some of the extra energy. I did a practice run through and then taped myself dancing to Lady Gaga "Born This Way," which I consider to be somewhat of a theme song.
Also, for this one, I think I need to get a YouTube account....
The point is that Ben Franklin was a renaissance man and he was good at everything and if he believes that joy is in us and not things, I believe him. He was a genius inventor and world leader back in the American Revolution times and a friend of mine's "favorite founding father" (mine is George Washington). Flashback to when I was 5, traveling to Williamsburg, VA and Mount Vernon thinking that literally I had accomplished one of life's missions to be able to go to George Washington's house. And when this same friend who idolizes Ben Franklin in history, let's just call her, Yorktown, gave me a personalized tour of Philadelphia several years ago, I was just as amazed to see Independence Hall. I won't even get started on the National Treasure movies.
So remember, as you enter the Christmas season, it is the thought that counts and what is inside you that matters, not the things that surround you. Things break and hopefully you don't.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Heidi
Still working on how to upload it...
On another note, I guess I was inspired prior to my microbiology final to dance because I didn't want to use the nervous energy in a negative way. My husband had said specifically, don't blog, don't play on Facebook, study for your final, you get distracted way too easily (so true). So I studied hard and I think I actually think I did relatively well, however, prior to leaving the house, I set aside some time so I could dance off some of the extra energy. I did a practice run through and then taped myself dancing to Lady Gaga "Born This Way," which I consider to be somewhat of a theme song.
Also, for this one, I think I need to get a YouTube account....
The point is that Ben Franklin was a renaissance man and he was good at everything and if he believes that joy is in us and not things, I believe him. He was a genius inventor and world leader back in the American Revolution times and a friend of mine's "favorite founding father" (mine is George Washington). Flashback to when I was 5, traveling to Williamsburg, VA and Mount Vernon thinking that literally I had accomplished one of life's missions to be able to go to George Washington's house. And when this same friend who idolizes Ben Franklin in history, let's just call her, Yorktown, gave me a personalized tour of Philadelphia several years ago, I was just as amazed to see Independence Hall. I won't even get started on the National Treasure movies.
So remember, as you enter the Christmas season, it is the thought that counts and what is inside you that matters, not the things that surround you. Things break and hopefully you don't.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Heidi
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
It's December, It's Not Icy or Snowy, so we are running.
This morning I had my normal Wednesday run with G2 and she texts me at like 6:30 saying she's got a bit of a head cold and just not feeling normal. I asked her whether she had a fever and if she didn't I said, "It's December, its not snowy and icy, we are running."
G2 hates hills more than you can imagine. Complains the whole way up it and just about why it sucks. My response do it more often because then you can make your weakness your strength by doing it more often. We ran up the biggest hills in town today, why? To make us stronger To make us have less 'I can'ts' during a run. Oh and mental toughness. And for those high schoolers reading, since its winter track, when _______ tries to pass you in __________ event, you say "Look I ran the biggest hill in town four times and you are not going to beat me...why because I run to see who has the most guts, and if it comes down to a pure guts race, I know I will win."
Said no better by the best hero of all time. Steve Prefontaine. Run for him. No matter how hungover or how sore he was he puked, he probably had violent diarrhea on bushes, he peed in the woods when there was no bathroom in site and heck, he probably had a head cold at some point but when it comes down to it, he was running. He ran because he loved it and he knew that he was good at it because he practiced often and always pushed his comfort zone daily because each day, he was preparing to be an Olympic champion.
This fall, I said to one of the athlete's at practice, "well, I am not training for the Olympics anymore."
He responded, "Well, I am."
Sometimes if you work at something long enough and you are willing to:
1) Work at least 1% harder than your competition
2) Realize that pain is temporary, pride is forever
3) Love the process of training and practice and be excited to compete every time you get a chance
You might be good enough to try out for the Olympics someday. I know I talk about my parents a lot but they helped me out for a good amount of my life and they helped me believe in limitless possibilities. I was (5-6, 138) trying out for the Olympic team in the javelin. Look up Kara Patterson and Rachel Yurkovich, they are currently best female javelin throwers for the US, the US record holder and a World Championships finalist respectfully. I look like a miniature version of these two. I was a physiological anomaly for the event, yet somehow, through the power of positive thinking, lots of painful walks home from maxing out in the weight room, support from my friends and family and trust in my coach that she would bring me to the level I wanted to be at, I got there.
Which brings me to Bridget Franek, the current #2 3000m steeplechaser in the US.
She never failed to make the NCAAs in her four years at Penn State. She listened to her body and backed off when she started to get hurt. She practiced as hard as her body would let her. She cared about respresenting Penn State with pride (Success with Honor as JoePa has always preached). She trusted in Coach Sullivan and she became an NCAA Champion by the time she graduated and now she is living the dream as a professional runner for the Oregon Track Club in Eugene, Oregon. When we went kayaking after the Trials, we were cold and miserable and still laughing our heads off, I asked Bridget, "Is this how all Franek adventures are?"
She responded, "If you are not cold and miserable at some point, it's not a Franek family vacation."
Bridget will try to make her first Olympic team this summer and I think she has a great shot. Currently, we are working out the details of a T-shirt design competition for kids under 18 to make a fan club t-shirt for Bridget. The winner of the competition will get a free t-shirt with their design on it and if Bridget makes the team, your graphic design work will be displayed on the jumbotron at Hayward Field when Bridget is running and hopefully again as she takes a victory lap when she makes the Olympic team. Who knows if you go to the Trials, you might get zoomed in on, just like those "GO PRE" shirts back in 1972. The proceeds from these shirts will help fund a scholarship fund in Bridget's name down the road for other kids following their dreams, just like she did. She followed her dreams, and she's asking you "Why Knot?" Please continue to follow the blog for more details about this opportunity.
So keep running, have fun and remember to smile. You cannot make a day good for you and someone else if you forget to smile.
Keep living the dream!
Heidi
G2 hates hills more than you can imagine. Complains the whole way up it and just about why it sucks. My response do it more often because then you can make your weakness your strength by doing it more often. We ran up the biggest hills in town today, why? To make us stronger To make us have less 'I can'ts' during a run. Oh and mental toughness. And for those high schoolers reading, since its winter track, when _______ tries to pass you in __________ event, you say "Look I ran the biggest hill in town four times and you are not going to beat me...why because I run to see who has the most guts, and if it comes down to a pure guts race, I know I will win."
Said no better by the best hero of all time. Steve Prefontaine. Run for him. No matter how hungover or how sore he was he puked, he probably had violent diarrhea on bushes, he peed in the woods when there was no bathroom in site and heck, he probably had a head cold at some point but when it comes down to it, he was running. He ran because he loved it and he knew that he was good at it because he practiced often and always pushed his comfort zone daily because each day, he was preparing to be an Olympic champion.
This fall, I said to one of the athlete's at practice, "well, I am not training for the Olympics anymore."
He responded, "Well, I am."
Sometimes if you work at something long enough and you are willing to:
1) Work at least 1% harder than your competition
2) Realize that pain is temporary, pride is forever
3) Love the process of training and practice and be excited to compete every time you get a chance
You might be good enough to try out for the Olympics someday. I know I talk about my parents a lot but they helped me out for a good amount of my life and they helped me believe in limitless possibilities. I was (5-6, 138) trying out for the Olympic team in the javelin. Look up Kara Patterson and Rachel Yurkovich, they are currently best female javelin throwers for the US, the US record holder and a World Championships finalist respectfully. I look like a miniature version of these two. I was a physiological anomaly for the event, yet somehow, through the power of positive thinking, lots of painful walks home from maxing out in the weight room, support from my friends and family and trust in my coach that she would bring me to the level I wanted to be at, I got there.
Which brings me to Bridget Franek, the current #2 3000m steeplechaser in the US.
She never failed to make the NCAAs in her four years at Penn State. She listened to her body and backed off when she started to get hurt. She practiced as hard as her body would let her. She cared about respresenting Penn State with pride (Success with Honor as JoePa has always preached). She trusted in Coach Sullivan and she became an NCAA Champion by the time she graduated and now she is living the dream as a professional runner for the Oregon Track Club in Eugene, Oregon. When we went kayaking after the Trials, we were cold and miserable and still laughing our heads off, I asked Bridget, "Is this how all Franek adventures are?"
She responded, "If you are not cold and miserable at some point, it's not a Franek family vacation."
Bridget will try to make her first Olympic team this summer and I think she has a great shot. Currently, we are working out the details of a T-shirt design competition for kids under 18 to make a fan club t-shirt for Bridget. The winner of the competition will get a free t-shirt with their design on it and if Bridget makes the team, your graphic design work will be displayed on the jumbotron at Hayward Field when Bridget is running and hopefully again as she takes a victory lap when she makes the Olympic team. Who knows if you go to the Trials, you might get zoomed in on, just like those "GO PRE" shirts back in 1972. The proceeds from these shirts will help fund a scholarship fund in Bridget's name down the road for other kids following their dreams, just like she did. She followed her dreams, and she's asking you "Why Knot?" Please continue to follow the blog for more details about this opportunity.
So keep running, have fun and remember to smile. You cannot make a day good for you and someone else if you forget to smile.
Keep living the dream!
Heidi
Monday, December 12, 2011
We are all superstars: Love who you are, no matter what
Please put on Lady Gaga, "Born This Way," and read the following.
My mother was instrumental in teaching me that I was perfect just the way I was born. Before I entered kindergarten, she was a stay-at-home mom and took at least ten hours of her time a day to make sure that I was learning something (because you learn something from every situation), help me learn to like all foods (especially vegetables and only sweets on the weekends), dance and sing like no one is watching (she let me perform daily in front of our video camera so that even though my dad was working long hours he could watch me grow up), and how to love myself unconditionally because that was the only way she knew how to love me. By the time 5 p.m. came around we were tired of our togetherness and I would start misbehaving and she would get frustrated but never yell. After dinner, I was my dad's and we got to live the adventures of flying airplanes up the stairs and making an adventure of every evening even though that was the only time that I saw him. My mom sacrificed a lot of her time, especially because she had so much to give the world as a speech pathologist (she's really really good at teaching kids how to talk and teaching autistic kids how to embrace who they are, but more so, their parents), and she took the time to care for me, take me to every possibly practice because she loved me and I had way too much energy to just sit around the house.
I believed that I was awesome for just being who I was and that's what my mother fostered and encouraged everyday. When it came time to go school shopping in junior high (probably because at the time we didn't have the money), she said brands did not matter and my dad reinforced that what mattered was who you were as a person on the inside and looks did not matter. In the end, with every person you meet, what matters is that you impact them in a positive way so that they remember you as a good person who cares.
I guess I had the picture perfect childhood because both of my parents had dealt with hardships that I can only imagine. My mother was raised by her grandparents because her mother became an alcoholic after she divorced my grandfather when my mom was 8. My mother had to take care of her mother because she was too broken to take care of herself and back then, no one believed in therapy and that beer, cigarettes and time would heal everything and if you didn't talk about it, it would go away. My grandmother died at 70 of breast and bone cancer. She lived with cancer for over eight years. She was a very strong, stubborn woman who wanted the best for all children and taught long enough to be my kindergarten gym teacher. She loved sports. She loved the Olympics. She loved everything around her but had trouble because of the divorce, loving herself.
My dad on the other hand had a very loving household that was mixed with alcoholism and long hours just trying to survive the cold winters of Berlin. He wanted to stop the cycle of his father as he had been one of the sole survivors from a sunken ship in World War II and his whole life he was angry because he was one who survived. His mother was an amazing nurse who worked herself into the ground as a neonatal nurse. When my dad was born, she was working the night shift, and she said she was now a patient. My dad took pride in the fact that he was born at work. He took pride that he had one brother and three sisters that all loved and cared about each other. My dad's mother died in 1981 before my parents married at 55 of liver cancer. My dad's father died in 1992 when I was in kindergarten after about seven or eight heart attacks and eventually the years of abusing his body took their toll.
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, I love you, and congratulations on being married for thirty years and bringing me into the world.
Remember we are all superstars, we are all heroes and we all have the responsibility to love ourselves, our family and friends for exactly who they are because there is no other way to live. If you do live another way, you probably complain and think life sucks, often. Well, take responsibility for your actions and get over your sadness. Once you get over your sadness on that long run or when you realize that someone else has gone through the same thing as you did and that today is a new day and sometime soon the sun will shine again. The world is not that bad. It's actually pretty freaking awesome. Think about it.
If you are reading this right now, you have a roof over your head, you have heat, you have the internet and you can read. As we head into the winter months, there are many others who may have to survive the winter rather than go skiing, tubing or sit in the warm house and drink hot chocolate while watching a good movie with friends and family. Be appreciative for what you do have. Say thank you to anyone who helps you. Say I love you to your family and your friends. You do not want to miss out on that opportunity because you will never know how much you miss them until they are gone.
So hold your family and friends close and love each other unconditionally and go out and make the world a better place because you are smiling.
Heidi
My mother was instrumental in teaching me that I was perfect just the way I was born. Before I entered kindergarten, she was a stay-at-home mom and took at least ten hours of her time a day to make sure that I was learning something (because you learn something from every situation), help me learn to like all foods (especially vegetables and only sweets on the weekends), dance and sing like no one is watching (she let me perform daily in front of our video camera so that even though my dad was working long hours he could watch me grow up), and how to love myself unconditionally because that was the only way she knew how to love me. By the time 5 p.m. came around we were tired of our togetherness and I would start misbehaving and she would get frustrated but never yell. After dinner, I was my dad's and we got to live the adventures of flying airplanes up the stairs and making an adventure of every evening even though that was the only time that I saw him. My mom sacrificed a lot of her time, especially because she had so much to give the world as a speech pathologist (she's really really good at teaching kids how to talk and teaching autistic kids how to embrace who they are, but more so, their parents), and she took the time to care for me, take me to every possibly practice because she loved me and I had way too much energy to just sit around the house.
I believed that I was awesome for just being who I was and that's what my mother fostered and encouraged everyday. When it came time to go school shopping in junior high (probably because at the time we didn't have the money), she said brands did not matter and my dad reinforced that what mattered was who you were as a person on the inside and looks did not matter. In the end, with every person you meet, what matters is that you impact them in a positive way so that they remember you as a good person who cares.
I guess I had the picture perfect childhood because both of my parents had dealt with hardships that I can only imagine. My mother was raised by her grandparents because her mother became an alcoholic after she divorced my grandfather when my mom was 8. My mother had to take care of her mother because she was too broken to take care of herself and back then, no one believed in therapy and that beer, cigarettes and time would heal everything and if you didn't talk about it, it would go away. My grandmother died at 70 of breast and bone cancer. She lived with cancer for over eight years. She was a very strong, stubborn woman who wanted the best for all children and taught long enough to be my kindergarten gym teacher. She loved sports. She loved the Olympics. She loved everything around her but had trouble because of the divorce, loving herself.
My dad on the other hand had a very loving household that was mixed with alcoholism and long hours just trying to survive the cold winters of Berlin. He wanted to stop the cycle of his father as he had been one of the sole survivors from a sunken ship in World War II and his whole life he was angry because he was one who survived. His mother was an amazing nurse who worked herself into the ground as a neonatal nurse. When my dad was born, she was working the night shift, and she said she was now a patient. My dad took pride in the fact that he was born at work. He took pride that he had one brother and three sisters that all loved and cared about each other. My dad's mother died in 1981 before my parents married at 55 of liver cancer. My dad's father died in 1992 when I was in kindergarten after about seven or eight heart attacks and eventually the years of abusing his body took their toll.
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, I love you, and congratulations on being married for thirty years and bringing me into the world.
Remember we are all superstars, we are all heroes and we all have the responsibility to love ourselves, our family and friends for exactly who they are because there is no other way to live. If you do live another way, you probably complain and think life sucks, often. Well, take responsibility for your actions and get over your sadness. Once you get over your sadness on that long run or when you realize that someone else has gone through the same thing as you did and that today is a new day and sometime soon the sun will shine again. The world is not that bad. It's actually pretty freaking awesome. Think about it.
If you are reading this right now, you have a roof over your head, you have heat, you have the internet and you can read. As we head into the winter months, there are many others who may have to survive the winter rather than go skiing, tubing or sit in the warm house and drink hot chocolate while watching a good movie with friends and family. Be appreciative for what you do have. Say thank you to anyone who helps you. Say I love you to your family and your friends. You do not want to miss out on that opportunity because you will never know how much you miss them until they are gone.
So hold your family and friends close and love each other unconditionally and go out and make the world a better place because you are smiling.
Heidi
Friday, December 9, 2011
I Run for Hope: Why to run for F.A.T. Chicks?
If you do not know the Melissa Etheridge song, I Run for Life. Please download it and listen to it in the background as you read this post.
F.A.T. Chicks is an endurance athletics fundraising group working together to run, bike and swim to raise awareness for the female athlete triad and educate these women, their husbands and their children so that they can all stop suffering with the PTSD of being a runner and feeling that running alone will cure all of their problems regardless of the issue. The female athlete triad is a phenomenon that occurs for many female endurance athletes who have a negative energy balance because of exercising too much for the amount that they are eating. These women are afraid that they are always fat and are never truly satisfied with how they look. These women could be unaware that they are causing any damage. These women are your suburban soccer moms and single women who have a lot of talent, a lot of focus, are goal-oriented and want to be the best at everything they do because they would not live life any other way. They are overly involved and spread themselves thin so that they can make the world a better place.
As a result of being busy and highly motivated, they may not take the time to eat when they are hungry and rather than taking a break when they are tired, they continue to keep pushing. This push beyond their normal limits is why they are good maybe even great at anything at all. They know that they can endure more pain than anyone else they know because they are survivors. As a result of not taking a break, their body begins to slowly breakdown; they lose their period temporarily or permanently; they lose bone mass, which may lead to premature osteoporosis and sometimes stress fractures. There are a few women, who are physiological anomalies, that experience a prong of the triad and see no detrimental effects. They are usually elite female athletes.
They are making the world a better place. They are involved in every club in town and they are joyously cheering on their children, baking cookies and thriving as a mom or an organizer or a successful, prosperous young woman. However, because they have a desire to impact others but they have not taken the time to love themselves by eating enough to support their high level of exertion; their body is slowly dying because it lacks the proper nutrients to heal. Calcium and magnesium are being used for muscle contraction and relaxation and not to build stronger bones. Iron is being used to process oxygen they inhale through that rapid breathing of stressing the body through exercise and life.
As the founder of F.A.T. Chicks, I have been through most of these symptoms of the triad. I have developed a subclinical eating disorder prior to my wedding because I was so stressed out and cared way too much about what other people think. I lost my period while I was eating raw vegan and my husband saved me from any further damage because he said, “Heidi, if you are going to run this much, you need calories, real food and meat (and maybe a little beer).” I have never had a stress fracture, however, I have dealt with plantar fasciitis, which is also a sign of not enough calcium circulating in the blood (my own personal experience). By increasing my caloric intake to a normal healthy diet, I had more than enough energy; I got my period back; I grew an inch last year (at 25!) More than any of my own experiences, I have friends and teammates who have struggled with full blown eating disorders, struggled with the inability to get pregnant because their body does not think they are healthy enough to support a child, and struggled with the desire to train hard at an elite level only to have their season ended by a stress fracture or another overuse injury. When it comes down to it mentally, as one of my friends said, "..in the end, it comes down to self-doubt."
The idea that at some level you can't, you won't or you never will be able to do something because you are not __________ enough.
How can you help?
Do you have friends who struggle finding a balance in their life?
Signs: They complain about the cant’s and the should of life but never ever do anything about it
- If they do, it is minimal, short-lived and disastrous because of their own negativity
What to do: Help them change their mindset…tell them that life really isn’t that hard and it is only hard if you set limitations for yourself about the things you cannot and should do. Help them believe.
Do you know someone who has had any of the three prongs of the triad?
If so, visit www.femaleathletetriad.org and then ask them if they are not hurt to run with you on Saturday, April 7th in the Loco Great Bay half marathon and 5K in Newmarket, NH. You can register at:
And sign up for a lifetime membership to F.A.T. Chicks to help support research regarding women’s nutritional athletic needs. These international researchers are working hard to figure out how women can effectively thrive in the athletic environment and they need your help. Contact me at coachg.fatchicks@yahoo.com if you have any specific questions.
So do something, become happy and live the life you have imagined. You cannot live the dream if you are not fully present and engaged in the life you are leading and eating enough to support the busy life you lead. Get out there and make a difference.
Heidi
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Without Limits: Effective Goal Setting
A week or two ago, I watched the Tom Cruise version of Steve Prefontaine's story, Without Limits. One of my friends' sons is similar to Steve, he's that really fast kid that can't really find a home in team sports because he's too short, but very, very fast. I thought for him and the rest of us it would a good idea just to watch Steve's story and how far he was able to push himself in such little time. Steve Prefontaine was the ultimate hero and he always ran to win from the front because he knew no other way. In that 1972 Olympic 5000m final, he made a bold move at 600m to go and slowly slipped to 4th place in the last 100m. The announcers that day talked about Steve. They said that, "I think that Steve Prefontaine will win the Olympic 5000m in Montreal."
He never got that chance because he died on May 30, 1975 in a car accident after he had put together a rematch with the Finns at Hayward Field.
Pre stood for a lot of things. He represented athletes in that if you believe in something strong enough you can make it a reality as long as you are willing to hurt temporarily. He stood up to the AAU when athletes' were barely scraping by trying to chase the Olympic dream. Elite athletes are still facing this challenge with only being able to have one sponsor on their jersey. It makes sense for Galen Rupp, the US 10k record holder who is bringing in six-figures, and some of the other top athletes. For sub-elites who are not good enough to have a major sponsorship, they should be able to represent the hometown sandwich shop on their jersey, within reason, if that's who paid for their plane ticket to the trials. Please read up on this issue and support this cause as we head into another Olympic year.
Pre was willing to believe in himself so much that he knew that he could win in almost every race...almost.
As you continue or beginning running, think about what you are planning to get out of the experience through the process.
1) Do you want to run socially with friends and be healthy together?
Look in your community for local running clubs that run a few times a week and make friends on the run and enjoy talking/chatting while breathing a little harder than normal and making your heart stronger so you can live longer.
2) Do you want to eat more food than you should because you love eating which is highly important once you win races because in order to run faster you need enough fuel in the tank?
Again, remember, eating, exercise and sleep are all important. So try to figure out what balance works for you.
3) Do you want to make a certain team or place?
Sign up for a race that looks like fun locally. Once you feel comfortable running, sign up for a destination race and use running as an excuse to travel and overeat :-).
4) Do you aspire to beating a certain individual?
Beat them once and then move onto bigger and better things.
5) Do you want to run for hope for others getting healthy like you?
Then, sign up to run for charity. It is the easiest way to run a major marathon if you cannot hit the time standard. Or if you can hit the time standard and you do not want to run hard for 26.2 miles, it gives you an excuse to have fun with friends to raise awareness for _________ (maybe F.A.T. Chicks?).
6) Who is your hero?
For me, it depends on the day. My husband, my dad, my mom, and my friends all impact me and make me feel like the luckiest person on earth to have their support. I am forever grateful to be surrounded by them.
Point being, goals should be specific and general at the same time and have lasting power or else you will quickly lose motivation if your goal becomes elusive. So stop trying to lose weight or run a sub-4 hour marathon. When you set a goal that is not specific enough or that is too hard to reach in the time you have, you will never know whether know if you reached it and you won't get the yes feeling. Also, if you set one big goal, keep that prominently in the front of your mind because even if you pick up other small goals along the way, that goal is still the only one you truly care about because its the one that will make a difference in your life and keep you running.
Find an activity you like and do it, often. Because then through the enjoyment of the activity you will become happier, healthier and obviously one of the coolest people around. You need to be happy for you. When you set achievable and reasonable goals, you can feel a sense of personal accomplishment in that moment, move on, and continue living a purpose-driven life. If you share this excitement with others, they might want to join. So be prepared to have a fan club.
Still loving the December weather and taking full advantage of the holiday season to gain a few pounds to be stronger and faster next year.
Heidi
He never got that chance because he died on May 30, 1975 in a car accident after he had put together a rematch with the Finns at Hayward Field.
Pre stood for a lot of things. He represented athletes in that if you believe in something strong enough you can make it a reality as long as you are willing to hurt temporarily. He stood up to the AAU when athletes' were barely scraping by trying to chase the Olympic dream. Elite athletes are still facing this challenge with only being able to have one sponsor on their jersey. It makes sense for Galen Rupp, the US 10k record holder who is bringing in six-figures, and some of the other top athletes. For sub-elites who are not good enough to have a major sponsorship, they should be able to represent the hometown sandwich shop on their jersey, within reason, if that's who paid for their plane ticket to the trials. Please read up on this issue and support this cause as we head into another Olympic year.
Pre was willing to believe in himself so much that he knew that he could win in almost every race...almost.
As you continue or beginning running, think about what you are planning to get out of the experience through the process.
1) Do you want to run socially with friends and be healthy together?
Look in your community for local running clubs that run a few times a week and make friends on the run and enjoy talking/chatting while breathing a little harder than normal and making your heart stronger so you can live longer.
2) Do you want to eat more food than you should because you love eating which is highly important once you win races because in order to run faster you need enough fuel in the tank?
Again, remember, eating, exercise and sleep are all important. So try to figure out what balance works for you.
3) Do you want to make a certain team or place?
Sign up for a race that looks like fun locally. Once you feel comfortable running, sign up for a destination race and use running as an excuse to travel and overeat :-).
4) Do you aspire to beating a certain individual?
Beat them once and then move onto bigger and better things.
5) Do you want to run for hope for others getting healthy like you?
Then, sign up to run for charity. It is the easiest way to run a major marathon if you cannot hit the time standard. Or if you can hit the time standard and you do not want to run hard for 26.2 miles, it gives you an excuse to have fun with friends to raise awareness for _________ (maybe F.A.T. Chicks?).
6) Who is your hero?
For me, it depends on the day. My husband, my dad, my mom, and my friends all impact me and make me feel like the luckiest person on earth to have their support. I am forever grateful to be surrounded by them.
Point being, goals should be specific and general at the same time and have lasting power or else you will quickly lose motivation if your goal becomes elusive. So stop trying to lose weight or run a sub-4 hour marathon. When you set a goal that is not specific enough or that is too hard to reach in the time you have, you will never know whether know if you reached it and you won't get the yes feeling. Also, if you set one big goal, keep that prominently in the front of your mind because even if you pick up other small goals along the way, that goal is still the only one you truly care about because its the one that will make a difference in your life and keep you running.
Find an activity you like and do it, often. Because then through the enjoyment of the activity you will become happier, healthier and obviously one of the coolest people around. You need to be happy for you. When you set achievable and reasonable goals, you can feel a sense of personal accomplishment in that moment, move on, and continue living a purpose-driven life. If you share this excitement with others, they might want to join. So be prepared to have a fan club.
Still loving the December weather and taking full advantage of the holiday season to gain a few pounds to be stronger and faster next year.
Heidi
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Importance of Hydration
For those of you who have read A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime, you will appreciate this a lot. If you have not, please read it, it will help you understand the ever growing amount of autistic individuals living here on earth.
In the ideal world, we would all, runners and non-runners alike, would drink 8 oz. of water for every hour we are not sleeping. However, the world is not ideal, this is not a utopia so we must make due and/or suffer and deal with the consequences.
In the ideal world, we would all, runners and non-runners alike, would drink 8 oz. of water for every hour we are not sleeping. However, the world is not ideal, this is not a utopia so we must make due and/or suffer and deal with the consequences.
Why?
The body ranges from 70-80% water and you need water for all of your bodily functions to occur. For instance, with pooping, in order for you to go to the bathroom you need to have enough water in your system such that when the waste passes through your digestive system it does not get stuck. Your body naturally absorbs water in the large intestine and if it doesn’t have much to work with, it cannot suck it out and use it for things like circulation. The “stuckness” for lack of a better term can lead to many things (i.e. the consequences):
1. Constipation (not pooing)
1. Constipation (not pooing)
2. Runner’s Trots (needing to poo somewhere about 3.5 miles from your house –that is if you are going at an 8-8:30/min pace—possibly closer if you do not run that fast or farther if you are a champion--- both leads to the dire need to poo without a toilet and resorting to pooing in less comfortable situations like the woods, on the side of the woods, in your pants, and hopefully not violently in someone’s bushes)
3. Malabsorption (though you are eating enough, you are not getting the nutrients you need, because they cannot be absorbed in the small or large intestine, depending on the nutrient, because of most likely #1)
4. Cramping: when you are challenging your body to work harder than it is used to and it needs to metabolize food, water and electrolytes faster than normal
3. Malabsorption (though you are eating enough, you are not getting the nutrients you need, because they cannot be absorbed in the small or large intestine, depending on the nutrient, because of most likely #1)
4. Cramping: when you are challenging your body to work harder than it is used to and it needs to metabolize food, water and electrolytes faster than normal
a. Very common when you are challenging your body to run faster, get back into shape ---otherwise known as increase your current level of fitness
b. Will not be too severe if you yield to the following principles
i. Avoid high CHO/ fatty foods close to exercise because they take longer to digest
ii. Make sure you drink enough water
1. It is different for everyone but you need to figure how you best function
2. If you are thirsty, more sore than normal, feeling beat up, you probably need more water to help with circulating out the acidic waste and bringing in the nutrients necessary for tissue repair and maintenance
iii. Be aware of how much you sweat
iv. Be aware of particular foods that give you cramps and those that don’t (write it down if you don’t remember things well)
5. Urinary Tract Infections (you are not peeing enough and some how the bacteria from your poo has gotten near your urethra and though pee is sterile, you are not peeing enough to clear it out.)
5. Urinary Tract Infections (you are not peeing enough and some how the bacteria from your poo has gotten near your urethra and though pee is sterile, you are not peeing enough to clear it out.)
a. Side note: Guys do not have this problem as much because they have a penis and it isn’t as close to their anus. A short urethra is a microbial disadvantage when preventing disease.
6. There are other conditions I am sure, but these are those I have the most experience with so I am going to stick with them
NOTE: Spread the water out over time, do not drink a gallon at once or else, you will have to deal with #6.
6. Needing to pee with no bathroom in sight: The woods works fine. Pop a squat. Pee on a tree. The choice is yours.
Dehydration
The much more serious side effect of not drinking enough clear liquids
If you have been drinking water, 8 oz for every hour you are awake, you are doing well, if and only if you do not drink just as much coffee, tea and alcohol, it is hot out or you just sweat a lot for no apparent reason and give showers to those running next to you.
This will compound the effect of drinking or not drinking enough water because coffee, tea, soda and alcohol are all diuretics (they make you pee on command, whether you like it or not). So if you are like myself and dream of having coffee every morning just because you love the taste, watch your coffee consumption. You may be peeing out all the good nutrients you once had because you are being forced to expel them. With alcohol, make sure that you balance your alcohol consumption with your water intake. With a diuretic you are making an effort to dehydrate yourself, so minimize their consumption so you have electrolytes in your system to help with important functions like muscle contraction.
Dehydration can be the result of many different things:
Being busy and not taking time to drink water throughout the day and claiming that you do not have time.
Being busy and not taking time to drink water throughout the day and claiming that you do not have time.
a. Lack of availability of water (this can easily be fixed by purchasing a reusable aluminum water bottle and/or Nalgene)
b. Claiming that you do not like the taste of water, which then at some point will lead you to be dehydrated during a race and you will learn, the hard way, unfortunately. You may even stop and ask your teammates/friends for water during a race because you are thirsty.
2. Being stressed out
a. In order to calm down or get going, you participate in one of the following:
2. Being stressed out
a. In order to calm down or get going, you participate in one of the following:
i. Have multiple cups of coffee in the morning to wake up
ii. Have multiple beers, drinks whatever to de-stress from work
iii. Have multiple sodas to distress and/or feed your sugar addiction
iv. You run.
v. You run hard everyday and feel that suffering is the only option.
vi. You don’t let your body recover, because again you feel at some deep level that suffering is the only answer, it’s not; only if you want life to be hard and suck all the time.
3. It is hot/humid out
a. Your body needs to work harder to keep your bodily reactions occurring at a standard temperature so you sweat as a result, a natural cooling mechanism.
4. You are a sweater
a. Your body needs to work harder to cool your body down because you are generally overheated
Water is one of our best resources and luckily in the US its free! So remember the H20!
Heidi
Water is one of our best resources and luckily in the US its free! So remember the H20!
Heidi
Monday, December 5, 2011
Be A Hero...at least in your own mind.
This fall, I had the opportunity to coach one more season of cross country. We had over 40 high school kids that bought in to the work hard so you can PR mentality. This year's sweatshirt phrase, "Pain is temporary, pride is forever."
They got it! They found the joy that is running and they enjoyed it with all of their teammates through the New England Championships. They learned how to be heroes...at least in their own minds.
Early September this year, we had the first of the 3xMile workouts. The goal was to hit the first mile split from the scrimmage for all three repeats to understand pacing. One athlete, whose dad has been a marathoner his whole life, decided that he wanted to work harder in this workout. He was one of he slowest guys on the team but he wanted to make this workout count, for him. He had run about 25 minutes for a 5K, not too impressive in the grand scheme, but when you run 33 minutes in your first race, ever, it is admirable.
On this September day, he ran his first mile in 6:58. A speed that he had never felt before on land, and he kept going to the next rep because he felt good. 6:57, second mile. Holy moly, the watch was not lying, and you could see the amazement on his face. He was becoming a runner, a fast runner. Through his own effort and mental toughness, he was learning how to push himself to a new level. Third mile: 6:59. Never had he ever seen sub-7 minute miles, however, from that workout on, it became his personal goal to run sub-22 for a 5K by the end of the year. By the time of the JV State Meet, he ran 22:02. So close. However, he said that in his mind, he ran 21:59.
From that workout particularly, I nominated this athlete as HERO OF THE DAY, because he broke through a mental barrier that allowed him to run faster than he ever had before. There were two more JV female athletes, even though their PRs were 28 and 30 minutes respectively, who became tough nuggets themselves and ran 26 minutes and 29 minutes by the end of these season. Even though they were not getting their names in the paper, they were working harder than ever and breaking into a new zone that they had never seen before.
The boys Varsity athletes, well, their response to this was well you can be a HERO OF THE DAY, however, I choose to be a HERO everyday. Or to nominate themselves for HEROES of the DAY because they hit their times in the workouts. Point being, you can be a hero in your own mind everyday that you live because it makes life more exciting, more enjoyable and makes every experience seem epic because you are living the dream, everyday.
Yesterday, I was a hero. I ran faster than I had ever run before in the Mill Cities Relay. Why? Because I love my club (Winner's Circle) and I wanted to run so that others who cannot run as fast can still have a good time and celebrate slightly on my behalf. There are many people in the club who are in their 50s, 60s and 70s who are way beyond their prime and at this point are looking for age group wins and age group PRs because from now on, their times will not compare to their 20s, 30s and 40s. I hope that I can still be running with a smile on my face at 60 with my husband and know that I am giving all I can for the race I am running. We all share something in common: we LOVE running. Sometimes too much, but moderation comes with experience and time, once you break yourself or get injured for a long enough period that you realize maybe you were doing too much and that running cannot cure everything. You live and learn through running and eventually you realize that you will not die if you push yourself. Although pushing yourself needs to be left to work, races and workouts, or else life becomes too serious, too intense and not enough fun!
So please BE A HERO...at least in your own mind and sign up for the Great Bay Half and 5k on Saturday, April 7th and run for FAT Chicks to support women's health research internationally.
www.greatbayhalf.com
Order forms for jerseys and BE A HERO tech shirts will be available soon!
Also, again to learn about the Female Athlete Triad Coalition, visit:
www.femaleathletetriad.org
Continue living the life you have always wanted, I know I am.
Heidi
Friday, December 2, 2011
Pride: What it means to be a Warrior, a Nittany Lion, and a WCRC member
When I was younger, my dad always stressed family time. He always said that he was proud to be from Berlin and he was proud to belong to the UCC North Hampton church because of the positive impact it had on his life. He was proud to have graduated from UNH with a degree in Civil Engineering and to have worked 40 hours a week through college. He was relieved and excited to have served the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for 30 years as a Nuclear Engineer. However, he was most proud of me when he watched his daughter compete in the 2007 NCAA Finals and the 2008 Olympic Trials in the javelin because he knew that he helped build me into the person I am today. He taught me how to work hard and if you believed in something strong enough you could make it a reality even if everyone else around you thought that you could not do it. He taught me to have faith in the process and he taught me that the most important thing you can do as a human being is give back to others and expect nothing in return because at some point in your life, someone did the same for you.
My dad taught me to have pride in every organization, school and club that I joined. As a Winnacunnet Warrior, I bleed red, white and blue because I believed that if I did so others would follow and want to do the same. I am a Winnacunnet Warrior today and the few months I have left coaching I try to pass on that same pride to every kid I coach and that it should be an honor to wear that jersey, not just a right.
As a Nittany Lion, I wear my blue and white because Penn State was the best family I had ever known differently than just my mom and dad. They loved sports; they loved competition and they loved giving back to a good cause because they knew that they were here to do good for the world. Every year at THON, Penn State students raise millions to support research for childhood cancer and it is the largest student run fundraiser in the country. Why? Because WE ARE .... PENN STATE.
It sickens me because of the pride I have in my alma mater to hear the jokes that slander the PENN STATE name because there was one child molester that hurt a lot of kids, a very horrible thing, but those who actually had the power to stop it, didn't. In response to this, I am being proactive for change for women's health because I have seen too many friends, teammates and heroes have to take a break literally because they have a stress fracture. Please again, if you have not already, check out the Female Athlete Triad Coalition:
www.femaleathletetriad.org
When I graduated college, I felt somewhat lost always being an athlete and no longer having a team that I belonged. I went to local races chasing the elusive 20-min barrier and it just was not the same when I only had my mother to go back and tell about my PR or the race strategy. I wanted more. At the Jason Hussey 5K and at the High Street Mile, it became abundantly clear. I saw those blue and gold Winner's Circle jerseys with a bunch of people all shapes, ages, and sizes running, enjoying themselves and smiling at the end of the race. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that because they embodied all I had ever wanted to find in a group of athletes beyond Boys U-10 North Hampton Sting soccer, a group with a common goal working together to achieve something larger than themselves.
I found my husband talking nervously on the High St. Mile line and we got married about a year later and I found more friends that I can count that want to run, be healthy and eat whatever they want, so they can be happy and enjoy life.
WCRC members after the Medical Center 6K in Nashua
wearing the blue and gold proud.
Lara Bunce, who has since passed never said it better, "Life's too short to be anything but happy."
That rings more than true to all of these organizations and the experiences that I have had within them. There are real people who are Warriors, Nittany Lions and Winner's Circle members and they care about working hard for something greater than themselves and having a family there to support them.
I soon will learn even more so as the years go on what it means to be a Marine Corps spouse and from what I have seen at the balls every November and the Marines that I have met, I will feel that same feeling of pride that rings deeply in my soul every time I hear "From the Halls of Montezuma..." (Marine Corps hymn). Semper Fi!
Enjoy December at 50 degrees. I know I am.
Heidi
My dad taught me to have pride in every organization, school and club that I joined. As a Winnacunnet Warrior, I bleed red, white and blue because I believed that if I did so others would follow and want to do the same. I am a Winnacunnet Warrior today and the few months I have left coaching I try to pass on that same pride to every kid I coach and that it should be an honor to wear that jersey, not just a right.
As a Nittany Lion, I wear my blue and white because Penn State was the best family I had ever known differently than just my mom and dad. They loved sports; they loved competition and they loved giving back to a good cause because they knew that they were here to do good for the world. Every year at THON, Penn State students raise millions to support research for childhood cancer and it is the largest student run fundraiser in the country. Why? Because WE ARE .... PENN STATE.
It sickens me because of the pride I have in my alma mater to hear the jokes that slander the PENN STATE name because there was one child molester that hurt a lot of kids, a very horrible thing, but those who actually had the power to stop it, didn't. In response to this, I am being proactive for change for women's health because I have seen too many friends, teammates and heroes have to take a break literally because they have a stress fracture. Please again, if you have not already, check out the Female Athlete Triad Coalition:
www.femaleathletetriad.org
When I graduated college, I felt somewhat lost always being an athlete and no longer having a team that I belonged. I went to local races chasing the elusive 20-min barrier and it just was not the same when I only had my mother to go back and tell about my PR or the race strategy. I wanted more. At the Jason Hussey 5K and at the High Street Mile, it became abundantly clear. I saw those blue and gold Winner's Circle jerseys with a bunch of people all shapes, ages, and sizes running, enjoying themselves and smiling at the end of the race. I knew that I wanted to be a part of that because they embodied all I had ever wanted to find in a group of athletes beyond Boys U-10 North Hampton Sting soccer, a group with a common goal working together to achieve something larger than themselves.
I found my husband talking nervously on the High St. Mile line and we got married about a year later and I found more friends that I can count that want to run, be healthy and eat whatever they want, so they can be happy and enjoy life.
wearing the blue and gold proud.
Lara Bunce, who has since passed never said it better, "Life's too short to be anything but happy."
That rings more than true to all of these organizations and the experiences that I have had within them. There are real people who are Warriors, Nittany Lions and Winner's Circle members and they care about working hard for something greater than themselves and having a family there to support them.
I soon will learn even more so as the years go on what it means to be a Marine Corps spouse and from what I have seen at the balls every November and the Marines that I have met, I will feel that same feeling of pride that rings deeply in my soul every time I hear "From the Halls of Montezuma..." (Marine Corps hymn). Semper Fi!
Enjoy December at 50 degrees. I know I am.
Heidi
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Eating Enough Food During the Day to Support the Running Habit
Today, at practice, I was informed that one of the better sprinters on the team had been having cramps during the warm-up run because he did not eat lunch so I went over to talk to him to further investigate the situation. He said he had snacks in his bag but he did not eat those and that the school lunch just didn't look appealing. I asked why. He said that it was pizza and that this one guy on the football team had a pizza before a game and just puked everywhere so that if we were going to be doing a workout, he didn't want to get sick. Fair enough. Eat nothing so then you have nothing to throw up.
Well, you are doing something at practice, right? You need some sort of nutrients to sustain yourself through a practice. Your stomach is cramping because YOU ARE HUNGRY! So eat something if you get the hunger pangs at home, work, or wherever. It will help you. Eat enough so you are not still hungry but not too much that you feel stuffed.
What do you eat before a practice or a run?
First off, every person is made differently and their metabolisms are individualized so that not everyone can eat a huge omelette before a morning 5k race and you may be so nervous that you do not feel like you can eat anything at all.
Second, there are a few foods that tend to cause problems for some people when under stress:
1) Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)
2) Other high fat foods
3) Highly processed, high sugar or fried foods
Tbese should be consumed after exercise and not before because it will most likely lead to a higher incidence of stomach cramping. There are other causes of cramping but they do not relate as much to food consumption. They are related to hydration and that is another day.
Third, nutrient timing is also key. Figure out what you need to have in your system to compete or run and how early it needs to be in your system so it can be digested well.
Keep running well and remember to eat something if you are hungry. Do not sweat the calories. You will burn it off one day if not, you may actually need the extra pounds to be stronger.
Heidi
Well, you are doing something at practice, right? You need some sort of nutrients to sustain yourself through a practice. Your stomach is cramping because YOU ARE HUNGRY! So eat something if you get the hunger pangs at home, work, or wherever. It will help you. Eat enough so you are not still hungry but not too much that you feel stuffed.
What do you eat before a practice or a run?
First off, every person is made differently and their metabolisms are individualized so that not everyone can eat a huge omelette before a morning 5k race and you may be so nervous that you do not feel like you can eat anything at all.
Second, there are a few foods that tend to cause problems for some people when under stress:
1) Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)
2) Other high fat foods
3) Highly processed, high sugar or fried foods
Tbese should be consumed after exercise and not before because it will most likely lead to a higher incidence of stomach cramping. There are other causes of cramping but they do not relate as much to food consumption. They are related to hydration and that is another day.
Third, nutrient timing is also key. Figure out what you need to have in your system to compete or run and how early it needs to be in your system so it can be digested well.
Keep running well and remember to eat something if you are hungry. Do not sweat the calories. You will burn it off one day if not, you may actually need the extra pounds to be stronger.
Heidi
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