My Favorite Running Accessories

At its most basic, running doesn’t require a lot of “stuff.” With some comfortable clothes and some decent shoes, you can walk out your door and do a lot. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get in shape. But nowadays, there are all kinds of gadgets and fancy shoes and water bottles and what-not, so I thought I would write a post about my favorite running accessories.

1. Garmin Forerunner 305

Hello, my name is Kira, and I’m a Garmin addict. I love, love, love my Garmin. I also happen to be a little Type A and obsessive about my numbers. But I like the freedom it gives me to wander, to add on to my run without worrying about which street I’m on so I can remember to map it later, to run on trails and still know how far I’ve gone. It’s just as handy for making sure I’m going fast enough on tempo runs as it is for making sure my easy runs are slow enough. This model retails for $200, but you can frequently find it for much cheaper, even as low as $100. It has a heart rate monitor, but if you don’t care about that, the Forerunner 205 might be a good option.

2. Bondi Bands

I have chin-length hair, so even when I can put my hair in a ponytail or pigtails, there are still pieces falling in my face. Enter my Bondi Band. Its primary function is to wick away sweat so it doesn’t get in your eyes, and they have both solid colors and ones with fun sayings and patterns. I’ve never had a problem with it slipping forward or backward either. The one I wear most says, “Run now, wine later.” I wear it almost every time I’m going to be breaking a sweat. It’s seriously a great product.

3. Nathan Speedbelt 2

 

I resisted getting a fuel belt because they struck me as being uncomfortable and bulky, but when summer came, I knew I would need something to help me stay hydrated so I didn’t have to plan runs around water fountains. After polling people via Twitter, I decided on the Nathan Speedbelt 2. The two flasks carry up to 20 oz of fluids, so for longer runs, I usually fill one with Gatorade or coconut water and the other with straight water. When it’s going to be really warm, I freeze the bottles with the liquid the night before. The pockets are big enough to carry everything I need, and it’s easy to grab the bottles for a quick sip while I’m running. As a bigger-hipped individual, I’ve found it’s best to fasten it closer to my natural waist. It took about one eight-mile run to get used to, but now I love it for my longer training runs.

4. Brooks Running Shoes

Everyone’s feet are different, but eventually, it seems that most people figure out a brand that works best for them. Brooks running shoes are that for me. I first fell in love with the Glycerin 8’s and then moved onto the Ghost 3’s. Now, both the Glycerins and Ghosts are in a new generation, and the Ghost 4’s were named an Editor’s Choice by Runner’s World. So apparently, it’s not just me. Plus, I love their “Run happy” slogan.

5. Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves

I don’t know if these actually improve recovery or help you run faster or anything like that. What I love about them is that they make your calves feel really good after a long or hard run. Like Brie said, it’s like they’re giving your calves a hug. At $40 a pop, you might be tempted to get a cheaper model of compression sleeves, but these are the best and Zensah has fabulous customer service. They should be tight, like any fat on your lower leg will be squeezing out the top tight. Another bonus, I can instantly fluster my husband by threatening to go out in public with regular clothes plus my compression sleeves on.

My favorite place to purchase running attire and accessories is Running Warehouse. Shipping is free, even to make returns, and they have the best prices I’ve found. You can usually Google or “Like” them on Facebook to find a 10% off coupon. I also encourage you to visit your local running store (NOT a chain sporting goods store like Dick’s or Academy) for advice and a shoe-fitting if you’re new to running.

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated by any of the companies mentioned (Garmin, Bondi Band, Nathan, Brooks, Zensah, or Running Warehouse). Like my friend Abby said, I’m not one of those big fancy blogs. These are just products I believe in and that work for me.

What are your must-have running accessories?

Picking a Training Plan

Choosing a half marathon training plan can be a little daunting. A quick Google search for “half marathon training plan” produces 268,000 results, not all of them good or beneficial. To start with, many experts suggest that someone who has decided to train for a half marathon should be able to run 3-5 miles 3-5 times a week for 4-6 months. Not only does this prepare you for the cardiovascular and aerobic demands of training for a half marathon, it also conditions your joints, bones, and ligaments to the impact of running in order to prevent injury. Most half marathon training programs are about 12 weeks long, so be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to prepare before your race.

A good training plan will work with your schedule to help you achieve your goals and prepare you to “peak” just in time for your race. I think that an important step in picking a training plan that is frequently overlooked is to identify your own goals. Someone who is just trying to finish their first half marathon and someone who is trying for a personal record (PR) are going to have different training plans. Because Women’s Half Marathon Nashville is a hilly course with potentially warm weather, I don’t plan to all-out race it. My goal for WHM Nashville is to have fun and finish comfortably while enjoying the camaraderie and beautiful scenery throughout Nashville.

Many people have been successful running their first half marathon after training with Hal Higdon’s Novice Half Marathon Training Program, pictured above. This is a basic but good training program. As you can see, it doesn’t call for any speed work or hills, just running and cross-training. The long run peaks at 10 miles, so this plan relies on the adrenaline and motivation that comes from being at a race to get you through the last 3.1 miles.

When I trained for the Oak Barrel Half Marathon, I used the beginner training program pictured above from CoolRunning.com. Having completed a HM before, I wanted to work on feeling stronger and getting faster. With this plan, the long run peaks at 12 miles, 2 weeks before the race. While I didn’t do every run exactly as scheduled, this training program definitely helped me achieve those goals.

This go-round, I am devising my own training plan with help from Runner’s World SmartCoach. For free, you can enter in a recent race time and other variables, and SmartCoach will spit out a training plan, complete with paces, that will help you reach your goals. Above is a snippet of my first couple of weeks of the training plan. For the first time, I am actually doing the speed work and tempo runs, and it is really building my confidence and helping me to run faster.

As you can see, there is no need to pay for a training plan. With a few resources and some common sense, you can design a training plan that works for your life and your goals.

More Resources:

• Marathon Training Academy – another simple plan that relies heavily on cross-training with only 3 runs per week
• Jeff Galloway – A longer plan (17 weeks) for those who are interested in Galloway’s run-walk method

Have you picked a training plan yet? How did you decide?

Labels

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like they are constantly being asked to label themselves? You have to fit neatly into some box with a label on it: liberal, conservative, wife, sister, Christian, student, foodie, athlete, etc. It’s why writing an introductory blog post was so difficult for me. How can I tell you everything you need to know about me in just a few words? And besides, you probably bring your own connotations to terms.

I have struggled with the label “runner”. I run, yes, but I don’t often feel like a “real” runner. I don’t have the body shape of a “real” runner. Running is not easy for me, even at a pace that “real” runners would consider a crawl. But one of my favorite Bart Yasso quotes is: 

“I often hear someone say ‘I'm not a real runner’. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner."

I have the same problem with telling people about what I eat. I dabbled with not eating meat in high school but didn’t have the knowledge or means to eat a well-balanced diet so I went back to eating meat. Then a few years ago, I began giving up meat during Lent. While my husband was initially dismayed, we both learned that making tasty and filling meals without meat was definitely possible. I also noticed that I felt better when I didn’t eat meat. So last October, I started to reduce my meat consumption with an eye towards giving up meat at the beginning of the new year.

I still eat fish and seafood, so I’m not really vegetarian so much as pescetarian. I’m also not terribly picky about broths for soups in restaurants. And occasionally, I’ll eat meat if it’s local and ethically raised. I also find it difficult to refuse someone’s hospitality if they make me a meal with meat in it. I’ll pick around it as much as possible, but for me, the bigger sin would be to waste a perfectly good meal when other people go hungry than to let a morsel of meat pass my lips.

So when people ask, I usually just tell them that I am not eating meat right now. For whatever reason, it’s easier for me to say that than to label myself as a lacto-ovo vegetarian who occasionally eats fish. I don’t prepare any meat in my own house, but I don’t always have control over what food I have access to.

I am planning on doing a few posts on how to train for an endurance event without eating meat, but if you don’t want to wait on me, you can check out No Meat Athlete for an excellent resource. You can also visit my food blog, Cook Pray Love, for some ideas of the foods that I make and eat.

Do you follow a certain type of diet? Do you consider yourself a runner?

Oak Barrel Half Marathon

After running a half marathon without really training, I wanted to pick a spring half marathon that I would actually train for. While the Country Music Marathon and 1/2 are very popular in Nashville, I didn’t particularly feel like dealing with that kind of a crowd. Besides, Country Music was scheduled for the weekend smack dab in the middle of my exams for my final semester of graduate school. My mother had run the Oak Barrel Half Marathon previously, a much smaller rural half marathon set in Lynchburg, TN, the home of Jack Daniel’s Distillery. Oak Barrel was a few weeks earlier, in early April, and I convinced my husband, Joe, to train with me.

This meant training through the dead of winter. I know the South doesn’t have it nearly as bad as much of the country, but I’m from Texas. On our first 8-mile run, it started sleeting on us, just as we were turning around. But we also had gorgeous runs, 10 miles in Fort Lauderdale and peaking with 12 miles on the most perfect running day I’ve ever had in Nashville.

By the time April 2nd rolled around, I was ready. Joe was not quite as ready. With his busy schedule, he wasn’t able to train as much or as frequently as I was. Being on-call two nights before didn’t help matters. The Oak Barrel Half course is not flat and boasts the infamous “Whiskey Hill”, a not insignificant rise up to the ridge that surrounds Lynchburg. As you can see below, quite a few people are walking. We didn’t run the whole hill, but we made it up without too much fuss. I’m in orange, and Joe is in green.

My initial goal was to finish under 2:30 with Joe, but after our 12 mile training run, I amended it to sub-2:15. At mile 10, I knew I could do it, but Joe wasn’t feeling it, so he let me go. I ran the last 5K with everything I had left, passing people right and left. Running the first 10 miles conservatively had left me with plenty in my tank while many others were running out of gas.

I saw my dad, who rode his bike to Lynchburg, right before the last long mile along the highway into town. As much as I wanted to walk, I just concentrated on picking off people in front of me. I turned that last corner and kicked it in, blowing away my goal with a finishing time of 2:11:50.

My mom finished a few minutes later, and as soon as I gathered enough energy to head back on the course to find Joe, he turned the corner. I started screaming for him, and he came over and high-fived me before finishing.

It was a great feeling and a great race. After Oak Barrel, I officially had the half marathon bug.

What was your best race? Do you run with any family members?

My First Half Marathon

I ran my very first half marathon, the inaugural Women’s Half Marathon Nashville, completely on accident.

My mom had signed up to run the race but was injured, so she invited me to walk it with her. Did you catch that? We were going to WALK it. Except things didn’t quite go as planned. I had just completed Week 5 Day 3 of Couch to 5K, the 20 minute run with no walk breaks. I was even nervous about walking the half marathon. A lot can go wrong in that long amount of time – stomach problems, blisters, chafing, etc.

Fortunately, it was a beautiful day, and Jo Dee Messina sang the National Anthem as we lined up in our corral. Then, we were off. In order to get in front of a few people, we jogged for a bit, weaving past some slower walkers. But instead of slowing to a walk, we just kept running at a sustainable pace, stopping every now and again to walk up a hill. Thinking we would come in around 3:30, we were shocked to pass the 3:15 pacer and then the 3:00 pacer. At mile 5, I felt great. At mile 10, I couldn’t believe I was still moving. It was the most I had ever run in my life. My knees were creaky and tired. When we hit the last bridge, I made the misguided decision to try to run the rest of the way to the finish line. The uphill plus my tired legs quickly put a stop to that, but we crossed the line in 2:32, nearly an hour faster than we thought we would be.

So even though I have *run* the Women’s Half Marathon Nashville before, this is my first time to actually train for it.

Next up: The half marathon I actually *did* train for

Have you run a Women’s Half Marathon before?

Born to Run

In some ways, I’ve been running my whole life.

Yep, that’s me in that baby jogger circa mid-1980s. I grew up in a very athletic family. My parents even met one another on their corporate track team. My brother was also a very accomplished high school athlete. I spent a lot of time at various road races and track meets. Sometimes it feels like I was born knowing that 5K is 3.1 miles. However, I enjoyed music and reading to sports and performing in musicals to being on an athletic team.

When I met Joe, my husband, I was impressed at his ability to balance medical school and still exercise regularly. With his influence, I started hitting the campus gym for some weight-lifting and the elliptical. Like many brides-to-be, when we got engaged, I wanted to lose a few pounds. Through exercise and counting calories on Sparkpeople, I lost 20 lbs in about a year.

 

While I had gone through spurts of running, it never lasted because I always felt miserable doing it. Then last year I decided I wanted more of a challenge, plus I wanted to enjoy the wonderful parks and trails we have in Nashville, so I started Couch to 5K and convinced Joe to do it with me. Building up to running slowly made all of the difference in the world, and we completed the program in just enough time to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather.

Since starting Couch to 5K, the longest I’ve gone without running is a week. Even though I had run 5Ks before, my first 5K after C25K was the fastest one I’ve ever run. Now, with a couple of half marathons and other races under my belt, I’m ready to start focusing a little bit more on speed and strength.

How long have you been running for?

Introduction

Hello! I’m Kira, and this is my running blog. I’ve agreed to be one of four official bloggers for the Women’s Half Marathon. We’ll get to know one another throughout this process, but I wanted to start off with a short introduction.

This is me:

I’m 26, and I live in Nashville, Tennessee. In my non-running life, I’m an Episcopal chaplain, a wife to a medical resident, and the wrangler of two cats. I also write a food blog at Cook, Pray, Love.

I will be training for and running the Women’s Half Marathon in my hometown of Nashville, and I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you. In my next entry, I will tell you all about how I got started running.